Black Paper Hearts
by DNL-000-Protoman
Summary: (AU) After brutal experiments, Crona Gorgon has become a new form of weapon- a demon twinblade, a weapon forged from black blood that holds both Crona and Ragnarok's souls. Before Medusa uses her child for her evil pursuits, Lord Death kills her and adopts Crona. Even if Crona's new life with Death the Kid seems perfect, madness still lurks around every corner.(KidxCrona centric)
1. Death's Rage

**Some quick notes:**

**I will be using a mix of the Japanese and English terms used in the English anime, although this story features manga elements. **

**I will give Crona an ambiguous gender in this story. However, it leans more towards girl. This is because Crona looks much more like a girl when he/she is young, and growing up with him/her, Kid will refer to Crona as a female.**

**And this story introduces alot of AU elements, which I'll introduce as I go along. If you want to know them before you read, visit my Tumblr page on this story. I'll post a link to it on my profile. **

**Oh, and Death has his old robes and mask on in the intro.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Moving as silently and quickly as a ferocious jaguar, the God of Death hovered through a labyrinth of checkered halls. He clutched his scythe tightly in his clawed hand, ready for his pray to pop out at any given moment.<p>

"What's the matter, witch? Hiding just like your sister? Does cowardice run in the Gorgon family!?"

Hearing no response, the Shinigami continued his search and entered into what looked like a kitchen. Before combing the area, his weapon gleamed, and on it's dark blade appeared the image of a young, red-headed man.

"Be careful, Lord Death. These witches can pull all kindsa tricks."

Death chuckled lightly, "I'm a Reaper, in case you've forgotten. I can handle myself just fine."

"Yeah, but I'm not. I've got a daughter to raise, ya know? Try not to get me killed."

"Don't fret, Spirit. I would never put you into any unnecessary danger." replied the Shinigami to his weapon.

"Oh my, I have guests! You should have told me you were coming, I would have prepared tea."

Hearing the voice of the sly she-devil he was searching for, Death looked towards a nearby hallway, where his target walked in, draping herself across a counter.

The witch Medusa. Sister of Arachne and second-in-command of Arachnophobia, the enemies of what he spent his whole immortal life to create.

Lord Death stared daggers at the women, his black, ragged cloak seeming to flutter lightly with the tension in the room.

"I'm not telling you where my sister is, if that's what you're hoping." almost purred the deranged woman.

Death quickly responded, "If you don't, I swear on my title as Lord of Death City-"

Medusa interrupted the Shinigami with a laugh. As Death gave a low growl, Medusa began goading him, "Swear you'll what, Reaper? Kill me? Just like you killed Ashura? Just like you killed your own son?"

Death increased his grip on Spirit, who looked up worriedly at his boss. In the Death God's anger, his ragged cloak seemed to rustle as if it were being carried by the wind, and even his skull-like mask seemed to narrow it's empty eyes in anger.

"Don't you _dare _mention him…" growled Death.

Medusa laughed once more, stepping off the counter and walking sultrily over to the God of Death, continuing to draw his ire, "That wasn't very polite, you know… my sister was quite taken with poor little Ashura, and you went and murdered him. She was quite heart-broken."

Spirit hissed to Death, "Please, calm down! She's just trying to trick you!"

"Shut your mouth, Spirit!" barked the Shinigami, causing his weapon to flinch, "-this damned woman could never even dream of touching me! She's too _weak_!"

Although nearly anyone would be shaking in their boots at Death's anger, Medusa seemed to draw some of sick pleasure from playing with his mind. Death knew that she couldn't care less about Arachne… he knew that Ashura had to be dealt with… and yet...

"I had to…" whispered Death to himself, "he.. he was becoming a Kishin…"

"I'm not telling you where she is… you've hurt my sister enough…"

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!" exploded Death, "NOW DIE!"

Medusa didn't even have time to blink before Lord Death was upon her, clutching her by the throat with one clawed hand, holding back Spirit in another. He lifted her up into the air by the throat and reared back Spirit, ready to chop her into pieces.

Before he could swing, however, Spirit changed back into his human form and grabbed the Shinigami by his arm, "Lord Death, please! We need her! She's the closest lead we have to Arachnophobia's location!"

"I SAID SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" roared Death, knocking the shocked Spirit back. He turned towards Medusa, "If you won't help me kill this whore, then I'll rip her apart with my bare hands!"

Spirit watched in shock as Death plunged his claw right into Medusa's stomach. With a gurgle of blood and a silent scream, the snake witch watched as Death yanked out her intestines, presenting them right to her face before tossing them on the ground unceremoniously.

"Holy shit, Death!" cried Spirit, in complete shock. He had heard stories about Death having a hidden sadistic, murderous side (Spirit supposed being a Death God, protecting the world, living for hundreds of years, and having to kill your own son would done negative things to your psyche,) but this was just insanity.

Death wasn't even done, however. He squeezed Medusa's throat with all his might, and her jugular became bloody paste under his mighty grip. In a final act of sadism, he grabbed both of Medusa's arms and yanked, ripping her in two.

Death panted with what seemed like excitement. Medusa's blood painted his chalk-white skull mask a deep crimson, and with a final huff, he retracted his arms back into his cloak, turning back towards Spirit.

Spirit's mind, for lack of a better term, was blown to shit. Death looked towards the blood-stained ground in shame, "I-I'm sorry you had to see that…"

"Lord Death…" began Spirit, barely regaining his composure. Before Spirit could regain enough of his composure to continue, they both heard a small whimper of fear from the hallway where Medusa walked in.

"Oh shit." cursed Spirit.

That was the only thing that came to Spirit's mind. After all, a small child had just witnessed a Grim Reaper tear a woman to pieces.

Spirit figured that the child couldn't have been any older than 5- no older than his own daughter, Maka. He couldn't tell the child's gender, but he guessed it was girl, from the black dress he or she wore and shoulder-length pink hair. His or her big blue eyes were wide-open, and the child shook violently in fear.

Death slowly floated towards the child, desperately trying to wipe the blood from his mask.

The child was petrified, nearly fainting when Death loomed over her, "I-I'm so very sorry you saw that… I… swear I'm not a bad guy…"

That's when he or she fainted. Luckily, Death caught her before she hit the ground. With a sigh of guilt, he floated over to the counter, looking as much like a scolded puppy as a Death God could.

After gently setting the child down, Death turned to face Spirit, who began to assault Death with a rain of punches. While this did microscopic to zero damage to Death, he just hovered there and took it. He thought he deserved it.

"YOU FUCKIN' ASSHOLE!" cried Spirit, kicking at his cloak,."YOU'RE MORE THAN A THOUSAND YEARS OLD, ASSWIPE, YET YA CAN'T CONTROL YERSELF ENOUGH TO NOT MURDER THE ONLY LEAD TO YOUR WORST ENEMIES HIDEOUT?! YOU STUPID ASSHOLE!"

Death sighed in shame. He knew what Spirit was going to scream next. Spirit was an abused child, so he cared a great deal for the little ones. His inadvertent scarring of that little boy or girl pushed the death scythe over the edge.

"THEY'RE JUST A KID! THAT LITTLE KID JUST SAW YOU TEAR A WOMAN TO PIECES! WHAT DO YOU THINK MEDUSA WAS DOING TO HER ANYWAY, HUH?! NO DOUBT SOMETHING FUCKED UP! NOW SHE'LL BE EVEN MORE SCREWED UP IN THE HEAD! YOU CRAZY ASSHOLE!"

"Spirit. Stop."

Spirit stopped beating on the Shinigami, watching in anger as Death drooped his cloaked head in shame, "It's my fault. I took out all my frustrations on that woman, and because of that lack of control, we lost our only lead to Arachnophobe's hideout. Now, even more DWMA agents and innocent bystanders will die because of my thoughtless actions. Not only that, but I could have just scarred this child for life."

Spirit seemed to calm down a bit, "I… guess I understand. I mean, if I ever had to… and it make me sick to my stomach just to think this… k-kill… my Maka…. I…"

A small amount of tears streamed from Spirit's eyes from the mere thought, "And someone taunted me about it… yeah, I would still be beating their carcass…"

From behind his blood-soaked mask, Death smiled, "Thank you, Spirit."

After the apology, Spirit looked towards the child, who was curled up on the kitchen counter, out cold.

"I guess… I'll adopt her." said Spirit. Walking past Death, Spirit brushed a bit of pink hair from the kid's eyes, "Heh. She's actually pretty cute. Maka could use a sister anyway… well, if it is a girl…"

Without warning, a black blob popped out from the girl's back, tugging at her hair, "Geez, wake up Crona!"

Spirit recoiled in surprise while Death stared curiously at the strange creature. After a few unsuccessful attempts to wake the pinkette up, the strange creature looked towards the two strangers, casting the duo suspicious glances with his 'x' shaped pupils.

"Who the hell are you chumps?" barked the rude little blob. It stopped yanking on the girl's hair, but didn't let go of the pink handfuls trapped in his tiny little fists.

"Who the hell are _you_?" Spirit shot back, pointing his finger accusingly at the weird little thing.

"Me? I'm Ragnarok. And this loser I'm stuck to is Crona." explained Ragnarok, lightly bonking Crona on the head to show who he was talking about, even though it was quite obvious.

"Crona, huh?" asked Spirit to himself, rubbing his chin.

"Yeah, that's what I said. Hey, where's Medusa? Not like her to let guests in without killin' em..." Ragnarok trailed off, looking to the side, half expecting Medusa's menacing silhouette to be be standing there, watching...

"She's dead." declared Death bluntly, with the slightest hint of satisfaction in his voice- the same sort of satisfaction a mortal man feels when he wipes out a snake's nest in protection of his children.

"Gopi!" exclaimed Ragnarok in surprise, spinning it's head 360 degrees on it's neck, "-you two must be some tough cookies to do Medusa in! Not as tough as me, though. Well, since you iced Crona's mom, I guess Crona will be working for you now."

"Wait, Medusa put some weird monster inside her own child…?" growled Spirit in disgust. However, he was starting to not feel so disgusted at the recent memories of his Lord ripping the snake witch apart.

Death began to question the black blob,"Ragnarok, you're a demon sword, aren't you? Would you care to explain what you are, exactly?"

Ragnarok sighed, "I guess so… but you losers owe me at least 20 pieces of candy!"

"Deal." agreed Spirit, "-now, start talkin'."

"Well, ya see, I'm made of black blood. It's something Medusa invented. She melted me down, fused me with black blood, and injected me into this sniffling little shrimp. Now, we're kinda stuck together."

"What did she do that for?" asked Death, curious to the dead witch's plans.

Ragnarok shrugged, "Well, she said it was to make the ultimate 'weapon and meister' combo."

"And?" said Death.

"I guess she's pretty smart. 'cause we went up and beyond her expectations!"

"How so?" asked Spirit.

"Ya see... " whispered Ragnarok, as if it were an important secret, "Crona's a weapon, too… which makes her both a weapon and meister."

To show his point, Ragnarok sunk back inside of Crona's spine, and in a flash of purple light, Crona transformed into a double-bladed sword, both connected on opposite ends of the same handle, and both blades as black as night.

"Ya see what I mean?" asked the top sword, suddenly growing a mouth. While Spirit recoiled in surprise yet again, Death looked down and saw Crona's reflection on the adjacent blade, sound asleep.

"Incredible… you and Crona are two souls inside the same weapon…. and even if she's unconscious, you can still activate her weapon form… simply amazing…"

"I know, right?" said Ragnarok, "-well, I think I'm gonna catch a few more z's. Later."

After Ragnarok went back to sleep, the double-bladed demon sword transformed back into the slumbering little girl.

"Spirit, I'm taking the girl."

Spirit seemed amused at this, "Look… I don't doubt you're a good father to Kid and all, but this girl saw you tear her mother to pieces. Now, even if Crona does hate Medusa, she'll still probably not be so eager to bunk with you."

Death sighed, placing a claw over his mask, "I suppose that I'll have to warm up to her, then…"

"Lord Death, what are you doing…?" asked Spirit curiously.

Spirit's inquiry was answered when Death removed his mask, and the magic cloak that shrouded his body exploded into tiny shreds.

Then, standing there, was Lord Death's true form. A tall man with yellow pupils, fair skin, and the three lines of sanzu running across his neat, silky-black hair. He wore a 18th century suit, complete with a less sinister looking skull medallion hanging from his neck in front of the frills of his white shirt.

"So… do you think she'll be scared of me now?" asked Death, folding his hands behind his back.

Spirit stared at his master in shock, "Uh… your voice is still kinda intimidating, I guess…"

"Well… how about now?" exclaimed Death in a goofy voice.

A bead of sweat ran down Spirit's head, and he had no idea how to reply.

"Well, I suppose it's time to go home, Spirit. Come on." said Death to his weapon as he picked up the sleeping Crona, setting off to leave the witch's house. However, as the duo exited the witch's home, neither noticed the black snake, adorned with golden arrow markings, slithering out a window…

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><p>It was nearly complete.<p>

Kid smiled with pride as he penciled in the final jagged edge of one of the sun's rays- and, with that finishing touch, the 5 year old Shinigami's perfectly symmetrical sketch of the sun was finally complete.

"Now, it's time to color it in…" he said aloud, sitting up and looking around the circular stone platform in the middle of his father's death room.

Kid bit his lip in frustration when he didn't spot his colored pencils. He knew that he left them exactly in the center of the circular platform...

He looked towards his momentary caretaker, the death scythe Marie. While he tried to ensure his father he could take care of himself, Lord Death made sure to keep a capable fighter with Kid at all times, just in case Arachnophobia decided to target his son.

While Kid thought Marie was nice, and even pretty, it was hard looking her in the face- due to the fact she wore an eyepatch, making her face totally asymmetrical.

"Marie, have you seen my colored pencils?" asked the child Reaper, tugging at the hem of her dress.

The death scythe was sitting on the edge of the stone platform, completely engrossed in some romance novel.

Kid sighed irritably when she didn't respond, tugging at her dress even harder, "Marie!"

She gasped in surprise and looked down towards the little Reaper, "Oh! Sorry, Kid. Are you hungry or something?"

"Have you seen my colored pencils?" repeated Kid.

Marie looked somewhat surprised as she pulled out his missing pencils, "Oh, you mean these? I thought another one of your babysitters might have left them lying around."

Kid quickly yanked them out of her hands, opening up the cardboard container as Marie went on, "It's that kids your age usually color stuff with crayons or markers…"

Kid looked disgusted, "Those things?! No way would I ever use those… excuses for art supplies! The lines they leave are thick and clunky, not fit to make symmetrical art at all!"

As Kid finished his rant, he opened up the small box and sighed in relief as he saw that all the pencils were in their proper place. He closed it up, and was prepared to walk back over to his drawing, when his father suddenly entered the room.

… and for whatever reason, he was out of his cloak. Kid had only seen his dear father out of his cloak a few times in his short life.

Kid slowly walked up to his dad, casting an inquisitive glance upwards, "Father, wheres your cloak and mask?"

Lord Death smiled down at his son, placing his hand atop the boy's head, careful not to mess up his hair and cause him to freak out.

"I just thought a little change might be nice. Don't you think so, son?"

Marie and Kid's eyes widened.

"Lord Death, what happened to your voice?!" asked an alarmed Marie.

Death laughed, "Well, Spirit thought the one I spoke in was too intimidating. But enough about my new duds-" said Death, tugging on his shirt, "-I have someone I'd like you to meet."

Death looked behind his leg, but only found empty space. The Shinigami looked towards the opened doors of his death room, "Crona, please come on out… don't be shy. We just want to be your friends."

Kid peaked around his father's legs, and watched with curious eyes as he saw a small head of pink hair slowly inch around the corner.

Kid moved to the side a bit and saw a little girl, about his age. She seemed to be so nervous, she was shaking like a leaf.

Marie slowly approached the girl, bending over and touching her hand, trying to comfort her, "Oh, it's okay, sweetie… what's your name?"

The little girl bit her lip and remained silent. If anything, her nervous shaking seemed to increase.

"Her name is Crona." explained Death, "-she's Medusa's daughter. And I've decided to personally adopt her."

Marie stood, smiling brightly towards Death and Kid, "Well, that's nice. Sorry, Crona, I'd like to get to know you better, but I've got to go see a good friend…"

"Actually, Marie, I've been meaning to talk to you about… him… Kid, why don't you chat with Crona for a little while I talk with Marie?"

"Of course, father." acknowledged Kid. Noticing the girl's nervousness, he gingerly took Crona by the hand and lead the shaking, nerve-wracked girl to the stone platform while Death and Marie went outside the Death Room and out of the sight of the two children.

Kid took a seat on the stone stairs, gently patting the space next to him, offering the spot to Crona. The pinkette continued to shake nervously, staring off at a low flying cloud in the distance.

'_Why is she ignoring me?' _thought Kid to himself, before his eyes snapped open in revelation. Kid thought she didn't want to associate with him because of the asymmetrical stripes that wrapped around his hair only _half _way.

Kid fell flat on his face, pounding the ground with his fists and sobbing, "I'm so worthless! I'm garbage! Asymmetrical, unbalanced trash!"

Crona's soft blue eyes widened in shock. She had never made anyone cry before- she didn't really know how to deal with making someone cry. It made her feel guilty.

Crona ran over to Kid's side, "I-I'm sorry I made you cry! Please forgive me!"

Kid looked up, sniffling, "No… it's not your fault… who could blame you for not wanting to talk to an unbalanced freak like me?"

"N-no it's n-not like that. I just don't really know how to deal with t-talking to strangers…" quickly stuttered Crona.

Kid sat up, wiping the tears from his eyes, "Well…. if my dad is adopting you, then we're not really strangers… but… would you really be friends with someone as asymmetrical as me…?"

Crona blushed a deep red. She had no idea what asymmetrical meant, but her mind was buzzing with nervousness and anxiety. She had never been friends with anyone before.

She couldn't deal with Kid crying again, but she also couldn't deal with people. So, acting on pure instinct, she blurt out, "O-of c-course we can b-be friends!"

Crona hid her face, blushing in embarrassment. She was red as tomato, but would become even more red after Kid wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in for a hug.

"Thank you, Crona."

Crona whimpered, but couldn't help but smile a few seconds felt… warm, on the inside.

Their embrace was interrupted when Ragnarok burst from Crona's spine, breaking Kid's grip. The demon sword laid himself atop Crona's head and stared down at Kid, "You gotta be kiddin' me! Why would you wanna be friends with this loser!?"

Kid hopped back in surprise, "W-what are you?!"

Ragnarok explained his function with Crona. Kid looked surprised, "You can both transform into the same weapon…?"

"Yep." replied Ragnarok, "-you wanna see?"

A spark of excitement welled up within Kid's chest. A weapon that held two souls…? Would it be symmetrical?

"I would love to see!" exclaimed Kid, his eyes alight.

Ragnarok noticed Kid's eagerness, and decided to 'cash-in' on his talents. He rubbed his chin, "Hmm…. how 'bout you promise to give me 7 pieces of candy later, and we'll turn into a weapon for you?"

Kid flinched a bit as he heard what was perhaps the most terrible number in existence, "Ehh… how about 8 pieces of candy instead…?"

Ragnarok eyed Kid suspiciously, not sure whether or not Kid didn't know how to haggle or was trying to pull something. "Err… okay, I guess."

"Wait, please, Ragnorak! I can't deal with being a weapon… it's too weird…" pleaded Crona. And it was true. When she was turned into a weapon, she felt like she was floating inside of some sort of black, empty void, totally naked. She didn't know how to deal with that.

Kid sighed. Although he really wanted to see her weapon form, his duties as gentleman came first. he walked up to Crona, "Crona… if you don't want to transform, I won't make you…"

Crona smiled happily, "T-thank you, Kid…"

"Oh, that's sweet." said Death, walking into the room. The Shinigami looked over the two children, "Marie... uh... well, she's gone to see her friend."

"Hello again, father." said Kid.

Death smiled down at the two children, "How about I take you two out for some dinner? You can tell us more about yourself over some dinner... how does that sound, Crona?"

"What do you want to eat, Crona?" asked Kid happily. He rarely got to spend dinner time with his busy father, and now he even had a new sibling to do it with.

Crona gulped a bit, her nerves once again betraying her in the presence of the tall, dark frame of Lord Death. She remained silent.

"Of course," said Kid, "-you must not know any restaurants around Death City. Don't worry, my father's fine city is full of places to eat. What's your favorite food? We can take you to somewhere that serves it."

"For cryin' out loud!" Ragnarok suddenly butted in. He laid himself atop Crona's head and yanked on her hair, "-I know for a fact that you've told Medusa that you're favorite food is pasta!"

Kid suddenly stopmed over to Crona, who recoiled in fear. Had she done something wrong?

However, it Kid's anger wasn't directed at her. It was at the demon sword atop her head. Kid shoved a finger in his face, "Look, Ragnarok, you're going to have to stop bullying Crona!"

Ragnarok looked about as shocked as faceless blob could. Crona looked mortified, and Lord Death smiled at his son's strong sense of justice.

"Uh…! Y-yeah?! What are you gonna do if I don't, stripe boy?!" growled Ragnarok, grabbing Crona's nose and yanking it upwards.

Kid grabbed onto Ragnarok's arm, "Then I'll do… this!"

With that, Kid reared back and hit Ragnarok right where his nose would be, the blob of black blood was so shocked he didn't even have time to harden. The little bully grabbed his face, whining, "Ow! That hurt!"

"Now, imagine someone doing that to you whenever they felt like!" demanded Kid, folding his arms over his chest.

Crona, who was stunned silent, looked up as Ragnarok growled in defeat, "Fine, I'll be nicer to the pink loser..."

He then sunk back into Crona's spine in defeat, grumbling to himself. Lord Death patted his son's shoulder in pride, "Son, I'm proud of you for standing up for Crona. You'll be a fine Shinigami one day."

Kid scratched the side of nose, blushing in embarrassment, "Thank you, father."

Death looked away from his son and over to Crona, "So, you like pasta, huh?"

Crona kicked at the ground, "...Y-Yes." she quickly stuttered after a few short seconds.

Death tucked both children under his arms, "Alright, let's boogie!"


	2. Crazy Midnight

"A-are we gonna w-walk…?" asked Crona nervously. Both she and Kid were tucked firmly under Death's slim, yet powerful arms.

Lord Death laughed off Crona's question as six skull-like ornaments popped into exsistance around the Shinigami's back, floating in place.

"Hold on tight, kids."

Kid gripped onto his father's arm while Death tightened his grip around Crona, who nervously clung to his suit as they began to levitate.

"Prepare for liftoff!" cried Death as the floating devices around him began to spit a small jettison of blue flame, allowing the Reaper and the children clinging to him to soar through the sky.

"W-where are we going!?" cried Crona, her pink hair whipping around her face.

"The best Italian restaurant in Death City… and speak of the devil… it's right over there!" replied Death as he began to slow down and descend to the front of the restaurant.

Lord Death quickly set the children down. While Crona stood aghast, her hair spiked up from the wind, Kid quickly fixed his hair and collar.

"Well, let's get a move-on, kiddies."

Kid, noticing Crona's lack of movement, quickly grabbed her hand and hustled to his father's side, "Hold on a moment, father… won't we need a reservations?"

"Don't worry, Kid. I'm sure they'll make an exception for us."

* * *

><p>"L-Lord Death…?" nervously stuttered a waiter as he saw a formally-dressed man with three stripes around his hair walk into the restaurant, two children in tow. Many of the parents in Death City told of how the Shinigami had those same lines- the lines of sanzu.<p>

"That's right~" said Death merrily, "-I'd like a seat for one Reaper and two children, please."

The waiter nodded his head, quickly seating the Death God and providing he and the children with menus.

"Would you like anything to drink…?" asked the waiter nervously.

"I'd like a glass of your finest wine, good sir." said Death, offering the nervous waiter a smile.

"A strawberry soda, and make certain you put exactly 8 ice cubes in my glass." demanded Kid, and the waiter took special note.

"Do you want anything to drink, Crona?" asked Death towards the silent pinkette. She slowly nodded, "J-just a water…" she squeaked.

Then Ragnarok made an appearance, landing atop Crona's head, nearly making the waiter wet his pants.

"Gimme a root beer!" exclaimed the demon sword.

"I'll bring you your drinks right away!" promised the waiter, scurrying off, still startled at Ragnarok.

Death and his child both opened their menus, carefully decided what to eat. Ragnorak was doing the same with the menu meant for Crona, who was just hugging her knees to her chest, nervously watching the other patrons stare at them. They were gossiping on Death's new appearance, as well as the strange little girl with a blob atop her head, reading a menu.

"Crona, what do you want?" asked Kid, scooting a little closer to her, noticing his seat at the table was slightly askew.

"I-I don't know…" sniffed Crona, wishing to turn invisible to avoid all the stares aimed at her direction.

"Well, you'll have to read your menu, silly." laughed Death, "-Ragnarok, be a good boy and let Crona see it."

"Fine…" grumbled Ragnarok, handing the menu down to his host.

After a few seconds of studying the menu, Crona sighed in sadness. Kid looked towards her, "Crona, is something wrong?"

"There's so many choices… what if I order something I don't like…? I couldn't deal with that…"

"Here, try this." suggested Kid, pointing at an item on the menu- some sort of pasta dish topped with various cheeses, tomato sauce, and chicken.

"O...okay…"

The waiter approached them, drinks on a platter. He set it down and asked nervously,"S-so, have you decided what you'd like to o-order?"

Lord Death ordered some sort of fancy Italian dish Crona wouldn't be able to pronounce, Kid ordered some sort of calzone, as it was the most symmetrical thing he could find. Ragnarok ordered an entire large pizza for himself. The waiter quickly went back to tell the chefs could put all other orders on hold and prepare the Lord's meals as quickly as possible.

"So, Father…" Kid said, tapping his finger on the table, "-why are you talking and acting silly all of the sudden?"

"Let me level with you here son- I was scary. Just look at how that waiter reacted to me- even when I didn't have my cloak and mask on, he was frightened by my mere presence. I don't want to be scary, so I'm trying to be less threatening. Although, I do miss my mask and cloak. I might make a mask that isn't so skeletal… and I guess if I make the cloak a little less ragged… yeah, that could work."

Kid nodded, "Ah. That makes sense, I suppose."

"So, tell us something about yourself, Crona." Kid said.

Crona was once again wracked by nervousness, unable to make conversation. What could she say, really?

"It's ok, let me tell you about myself first." Kid said, "-my full name is Death the Kid. My Father's full title is Lord Death. He created me as an extension of his soul, so I don't have a mother."

Lord Death began, "Yep, I'm Lord Death. I founded the DWMA to help special children like you fight evil and protect the world. I'm a Reaper- or a Shinigami, as we're known in the East- so Kid and I are much more powerful than a regular human."

Crona smiled a bit, somewhat comforted by the fact her new family was being so open.

Death explained to Crona about Demon Weapons, the DWMA's role in protecting the world, Kishin eggs, the evil Arachnophobia, and other various things of that nature.

Crona knew of Arachnophobia- is one of the only things her mother talked to her about. She was somewhat surprised by the revelation that Arachne was her Aunt, however. Ragnarok seemed surprised as well.

The nervous waiter then approached the table, their meals on a cart. He quickly set down the food before attempting to pace away.

"Here are your meals, my Lord." said the waiter, delivering the food.

"Well, that was fast." chimed Death.

"W...what is t-this stuff?" asked Crona, poking at the chicken and cheese atop her pasta.

Kid looked over at her, his eyebrow lifted, "It's pasta, Crona."

"Yeah… but… there's some stuff all over it…"

Kid's eyes widened, "You mean your mother fed you plain noodles?"

"I… guess so…"

"Crona, pasta is meant to be eaten with sauces and other foods, such as meats, cheeses, and various herbs mixed in. If your favorite food is plain noodles, then you're going to faint when you try that."

Crona hesitantly poked her fork into the pasta, staring at it in disdain as Ragnarok continued to shovel food into his mouth above her.

"Come on, I know you can do it." encouraged Kid, giving her a small nod and reassuring smile. Crona felt her chest go warm and fuzzy again, after another single moment of hesitance, she pushed her doubts back and took a bite.

Crona just sat there in stunned silence, Ragnarok continuing to chow down atop her head.

"You alright, Crona?" asked Kid nervously, looking over to his father after she failed to respond. Lord Death dabbed around his lips with a napkin and shrugged.

"This… is the best thing that I've ever tasted…" said Crona quietly.

"Why don't you try some more, then?" asked a happy Kid, just about finished with his meal.

Crona didn't reply. She was far too busy stuffing her face with pasta.

After a few more minutes of silent eating, Death patted the table, "Alright, do either of you kids want dessert?"

"Oh! I do!" cried Ragnarok.

"I'd like some." replied Kid calmly, starkly contrasting Ragnarok's loud barking.

"What's…. dessert?" asked a confused Crona.

"Oh, come on, dummy! It's sweet stuff, like cake and ice cream! Even some mousy dummy like you should that!" mocked Ragnarok, pulling on her hair.

"Ragnarok! I told you not to bully Crona anymore!" hissed Kid, staring daggers at the demon sword.

Ragnarok growled as he was again chastised by Kid. Ragnarok was really starting to hate the little Shinigami.

* * *

><p>Fraken Stein stared at the padding of his cell, lightly scratching the surface. Oh, how he wished he could dissect something. Anything would do, really.<p>

"Hell, I would even use myself, if I just had something sharp enough…" he whispered, looking at his arm. While muscular, it was pasty, pale, and a human jigsaw puzzle of stitches and scars… just like the rest of his body.

BANG BANG!

The ex-professor looked towards the origin of the banging, his cell door, where a guard looked in on him disgustedly.

"Get up, stitches." spat the guard, "-you have a visitor."

Stein hopped to his feet, walking over to the door. He shot a smile at the guard, "Who is it?" he asked sweetly, even though he knew exactly who it was.

The guard's mouth twisted to an ugly sneer, "You're lucky Lord Death gave you special privileges 'cause you've done so much for the academy… if it were up to me, I'd chop ya into ribbons. But you'd probably enjoy that, wouldn't ya, stitches?"

"Very much so."

The guard growled, staring daggers at the former professor. Stein just stood there, smiling as if he was enjoying a pleasant stroll.

Of course, Stein could have easily torn the guard, along with the rest of the staff, apart.. But if he had done that, he would feel Lord Death's full wrath. So, he had no choice but to sit there and rot in the nuthouse.

He was lead to the usual room, the other 'nutcases' as the guards called them, staring at him in fear, while the guards all showed similar signs of extreme disgust at his passing.

Stein and the guard eventually stopped at a metal door. The guard looked over to him, "You've got 10 minutes with her. And remember- anything funny, and I'll beat you to a pulp, stitches."

With that empty threat, Stein was shoved into a small, white room. There, standing in the white emptiness, was Marie.

"Hi, Marie." greeted Stein, "-how was your day?"

Marie quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a deep kiss. After about a minute of exploring each others mouths, they separated for air.

"Good Lord, I've missed you Stein. Why did you have to break that guard's arm and shorten the time we can see each other?"

"He said you deserve better than a 'pasty freak' like me and he would show you how a 'real man' treats a woman."

"You think they know we have quickies in here?"

"Pretty certain. Not much they can do about it, though. They know Death let me off easy, and what will they do to you? You're a Death Scythe."

"Franken, please… just a few more years of good behavior in this hellhole, then we can finally be together again…" the Death Scythe pleaded.

"I promise I'll be a good boy." swore Stein. He was sure he could control his sadism for a another few years to get out of this filthy excuse for an insane asylum. He had been there since he could remember, after all.

"Thank you…" Marie sighed, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Well, what now?" asked Stein, running his fingers through her long blond hair, which curved at the ends.

"We still have 7 minutes…" cooed Marie, running her fingers down his chest….

* * *

><p>Flying back to the DWMA, Death landed once again at the front entrance. He set the two children down and looked down at them, "Alright, kids. I promised to meet the leader of the witches tomorrow. She's patient, but not a person you want to keep waiting. So, that means you'll have to show Crona around town with a babysitter tomorrow, Kid."<p>

"I understand, Father." said Kid.

"Crona… I already have some of my people preparing a room for you. But for tonight, you can stay with Kid."

Crona nodded slowly. Kid motioned for her to follow him, and the two children entered Death's academy.

* * *

><p>"You'll never guess what happened today, sweet-pea…" sighed Spirit, adjusting his black pajama shirt before crawling into bed, next to his wife, Kami.<p>

Kami was a young woman with a lean frame, fair complexion, and long, slightly curly, dark blond hair. She had a love of reading, and she was currently partaking in that favorite hobby of hers, exploring a large hardcover novel with her soft, emerald eyes.

She sighed and removed her reading glasses, placing them next to the bedside lamp, "I was worried about you, Spirit. Even with Lord Death wielding you, Medusa is a dangerous witch…"

Spirit smiled proudly, "Well I'm fine, aren't I?"

Kami looked towards Spirit as he crawled underneath the sheets next to her, "What happened, Spirit? What made Lord Death kill Medusa?"

Spirit rolled over to face his wife, and in a hushed tone, he revealed what had happened on his latest mission- Death's sadistic rage, Medusa's gruesome death, and Crona and Ragnarok.

"That's… wow. I never would have thought Lord Death would do something like that…" she trailed off, looking towards the ceiling fan.

Spirit sighed, concerned about his master, "I didn't either. I just hope he raises that kid right."

"Something bothers me though…" said Kami, looking somewhat concerned.

"What would that be, honey?" inquired Spirit.

Kami looked down in thought, "Medusa didn't fight back, did she?"

Spirit raised a brow, "Ya know… she didn't. In fact, she didn't even try to resist…"

Kami looked concerned, "You think she might have survived somehow…? Knew you and Death were coming, and faked her own death?"

"I don't think so. No one could have survived what Death did to her."

Kami reached for her lamp, "You're probably right… goodnight, Spirit."

* * *

><p>"T-this is your room, Kid?" asked Crona quietly, trailing behind Kid.<p>

Kid's room was... as she expected, completely symmetrical. Nearly the entire room was either black or white, and the bed was positioned right in the center of the room, with two white couches against each wall, and two lamps atop nightstands on each side of the bed.

"Yeah. You can stay in here until my father prepares another room for you." said Kid, "-now, you can take the bed. I'll just sleep on the couch."

"A-are you sure?" asked Crona.

"Absolutely. It's my duty as a gentleman." replied Kid.

Crona crawled into Kid's bed, while he neatly placed a pillow and blanket on the couch on to the right. He turned off the lamp to Crona's right, and quickly laid himself on the couch, wrapping himself in the blanket.

"Crona?" whispered Kid.

"I-is there something wrong?"

"I… can't do this."

Kid turned on the lamp, revealing his small, shaking frame. Crona gasped, fearing he was seriously ill.

"H-how am I supposed to sleep on the _r-right_ side of the room…?"

"O-oh. Well… you can just sleep on the bed, and I can use the couch. Don't worry about it, I slept on a stone floor before your dad adopted me."

"That's the most I've ever heard you say, Crona. I guess you're finally starting to open up."

Crona blushed in embarrassment. Kid climbed into the bed, "Here, we can share it. Just make sure you lay exactly 3'cm away from me, to keep the pressure on the mattress perfectly even."

"A-alright. But… can you… show me?"

"Don't get too close, kiddos." Ragnarok snickered, popping out of Crona's back.

"Go to bed, Ragnarok." ordered Kid as he climbed into bed. The blob stuck his tongue out at Kid before sinking back into Crona's spine, all three soon falling into a deep slumber.


	3. The Academy

**So, I introduce the death scythes and their meisters in this chapter...**

**But the thing is, most of the death scythes' meisters don't HAVE last names, so I had to make some up. Hope nobody minds.**

**Anyway, read and review! **

* * *

><p>Spirit awoke with a yawn, first noticing his wife was out of bed. She usually woke up earlier then him, so he wasn't really surprised. Rolling out of bed, he quickly showered and changed into his usual suit.<p>

Walking into the kitchen, he was greeted with the smell of pancakes. The redhead sighed happily as the sweet scent entered his nostrils.

Spirit pranced over to the table, where he smiled happily at his wife and daughter, "Good morning!"

"Good morning, Spirit." his wife replied, taking a bite out of her pancakes.

Spirit sat next to Maka, pinching her cheek, "-and how's Papa's special little lady today~?"

Maka replied by slapping his hand away. Spirit was recoiling in horror, but that wasn't even the worst of it. What happened next nearly broke his very soul into tiny pieces.

"Leave me alone." she said, facing away from her father with a pout.

Spirit's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he nearly passed out. He grabbed his wife and quickly dragged her into the hallway, sweating bullets.

"Spirit, what's your problem?" demanded Kami, staring angrily at her husband.

Spirit was nearly hyperventilating, "W-what's wrong with Maka?! She's acting so cold towards me!"

Kami sighed, "Look, Spirit... I promised I wouldn't tell you she told me this... but... she said that she thinks you don't love us anymore because you hit on so many other girls."

Spirit nearly teleported to the nearby bathroom, puking buckets into the previously clean toilet. He looked back up, his eyes red and streaming with tears and snot running from his nose, "You know I don't mean anything from that!"

Kami shrugged and let out an angry sigh, "I do. And even though I give you a good bonk ever time I catch you, I'd know that you love us. But you really need to get it together, Spirit. We have a daughter. And if you don't start acting like a real father, then I'll have to leave you..."

Spirit resumed puking into the toilet, then crawled back over to his wife's feet. He hugged her ankles and sobbed into her socks, "Please, don't leave me! I love you and Maka more than anything! I couldn't live without you two!"

Kami sighed, yanking her husband off the floor, but offered him a warm smile, "Oh, stop it you big goofball."

Spirit sniffled, "Look, Kami... I swear I won't flirt with anymore women. But... uh... I kinda promised Death on the way back from the mission that I'd help show Crona around town today... but... I wanna show Maka that I'm a good dad as soon as possible, so could you do for me?"

"Spirit..."

"Pwetty pwease?" begged Spirit with puppy-dog eyes, sparkles surrounding him.

"Alright, ya big baby. I'll watch Kid and Crona." Kami finally relented.

"Yes!" cried Spirit in victory before planting a big kiss on his wife's cheek, "-you're the best, hun!"

* * *

><p>The DWMA, over the long course of it's history, produced a variety of strong warriors. As of that current year, the academy currently employed 16 of the world's most renounced fighters.<p>

Tezca Tlipoca, Enrique the monkey, Tsar Pushka, Justin Law, Ding Dinga, Djinn Galland, Mifune, Yumi Azusa, Marie Mjolnir, Spirit Albarn, Kami Albarn, Joe Buttataki, Fyodor Marx, Zubaidah Xiao, Alexander Hoyt… as well as the world's most powerful weapon.

"Whatta think Death called us all here for?" asked Tzeca, his simian meister resting on his shoulder. Tzeca was a South American man in a casual business suit, wearing a giant bear helmet- making him the oddest of the Death Scythes. It wasn't just the odd clothing- it was the fact his meister was a monkey. And the fact he could apparently understand what Enrique was saying.

"Probably something about his new look." said Marie.

"No matter how he appears, he will always be our glorious master!" cried Justin, one hand on his chest, the other hand raised into the air. As usual, he had his earbuds in, and they were blasting music into his ears, forcing him to read his comrade's lips.

"Marie's probably right…" said Spirit. He was standing next to his wife, Kami, and had his hands tucked into his pockets, "...it's really weird, by the way. He looks like a jumbo Kid, and that voice he uses could be a cartoon character's…"

"KAMI… CHOP!"

Spirit was floored as his wife slammed a heavy novel into his noggin. She blew the smoke off the spine of her book and began scolding her husband, "Spirit, you shouldn't talk about Lord Death that way, no matter how 'weird' you think he's acting."

"You should listen to your wife, Spirit." said Joe, taking a sip of his piping hot coffee. Joe's father opened a successful coffee franchise- 'Deathbucks'- so his name and his love of the invigorating drink were no coincidence.

"-guys, seriously…" mumbled Spirit, standing up and rubbing his head, "-you've all heard the rumors that Death has a dark side, right?"

"I've heard them, but paid them no thought." said Tsar. No matter what the temperature, the Russian weapon always wore thick winter clothes, which exposed only his round nose and mustache.

"Well, when Lord Death and I went to go arrest Medusa last night, she taunted him about having to kill Ashura all those years ago."

"You mean his first son…? The one who tried to turn Kishin?" asked Mifune. Mifune was a white-haired samurai who was undoubtedly the strongest meister the academy had- even without a weapon partner, his plain katanas were enough to take down the strongest of enemies.

"That's the one." said the Death Scythe Azusa. She was a serious woman who seemed to always scan everyone in the vicinity with her cold eyes- right behind her glasses, which always seemed to deflect more light than the room had.

"Well, Death totally lost it when she mocked him about it. He tore Medusa to ribbons with his bare hands. And… that's why he personally adopted that kid, Crona. I guess he feels responsible for letting her see him like that."

"So, what? You think Death decided to change his look and voice to try and mask this dark side of his?" asked Fyodor.

"That's exactly what I think." confirmed Spirit.

The room was very silent after that. There were two thoughts on everyone's minds… where Death was… and where…. he… was.

Their second question was soon answered.

A bright flash of light flew into the room, hitting the middle of the circular platform. After the flash subsided, a brilliant, shining sword was left lodged in the center.

"EXCALIBUUUUR!" the sword chanted, suddenly morphing into an odd little creature who wore a top hat, held a cane, and had the feet of a rabbit, eyes of a fish, and a large, pointed nose.

Everyone in the room simultaneous cringed and looked off to the side- after all of Excalibur's years at the academy, this expression became infamously known as the 'Excalibur face'.

"Fools!" cried the holy sword, waving his cane at his allies, "-how dare you begin discussion without my presence!?"

"Someone kill me..." muttered Mifune, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"You may take your own life when I'm done with my story!" chastised Exaclibur, brandishing his cane at Mifune. Prancing to the center of the group, the odd weapon planted his cane firmly into the ground and began, "-my legend begins in the 12th century you see, before television had been invented-"

"OH GAWD MAKE IT STOP!" cried Spirit, hiding behind his wife, who was stuffing paper into her ears.

As if he had predicted Excalibur's nonsensical recounting, Death had made his appearance in the nick of time, entering through the mirror. He held one palm up, "Wazzup?"

"Ah! Lord Death has arrived." said Excalibur happily. Lord Death was the one person Excalibur respected. Well, respect as in ceased his rants when Death had something to say. Besides that, he was just as obnoxious around Death as everyone else.

"Thank you, Excalibur." replied Death, scooting Excalibur out of the way with his foot, "-now, I'm sure you're all wondering why I'm all talking like this... and also, why I summoned you here..."

"Is it to tell us why you're talking like that?" asked Mifune.

"Bingo." confirmed Death, "-you see, I feel that my previous appearance was... too... scary. With a new child, I thought a change might be necessary. Not just for her sake, but for all children that come to the academy."

"Whelp, that's it." said Death breaking the awkward silence and walking off, "Marie, hurry up. We have to meet Mabaa."

"Lord Death, hold on a sec." said Spirit, hopping off the platform and rushing to Death's side, "-could I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure thing."

"Well... I...my daughter thinks I don't love her or Kami anymore. So... do you mind giving me the day off so I could show her what a great dad I am? Kami said she'd take out Kid and Crona."

Death nodded, "I suppose so."

* * *

><p>Marie hated the witch's domain. She had gone there only once before, curious to what it had looked like. Not only did they live in a creepy castle, alot of witches still didn't like the Shibushen. She was always on edge, expecting a surprise attack at any given second.<p>

But then she realized that she was being silly- after all, what witch would be stupid enough to attack a death scythe and Shinigami... in the presence of the Grand Witch?

"Hello, Lady Mabaa."

"Nyuma... hello, Lord Death." the Grand Witch greeted, "-and may I be so bold as to ask why you're out of your cloak? And talking like that, for the matter?"

Death shrugged, "I thought I should act and look a little less scary. That's all."

"Oh? And what spurred this?"

"I've decided to adopt Medusa's daughter."

"...and I heard that you killed her. Why would you do that?"

"-circumstances forced me. My weapon partner is mortal, after all. I had to ensure his safety, and I suppose I overestimated her, because a blow meant to incapacitate her instantly killed her."

Mabaa nodded, "Nyuma... I see. A pity. She could have led us right to the Arachnophobia base. Speaking of adopted children, I'd like to introduce someone. Have you met my adopted daughter, Eruka?"

With that intro, a young woman with white hair and two big, black dots on her cheeks stepped out. She had on a frog-like hat, but her robes mimicked Mabaa's- although they had both a white and black color scheme.

"Nyamu. I decided to raise her as my apprentice when I sensed her large magic potential. Althought she still has much more training in store for her, Eruka's fmagic is a force to reckoned with. She also knows the ropes of spacial magic." explained Mabaa.

"A pleasure to meet you, Lord Death." Eruka said with the slightest twinge of nervousness in her voice. She bowed to Lord Death, her hat nearly falling off.

Death laughed abit,"You as well, Eruka."

"She'll be assisting your men in future missions." said Mabaa, "-and I believe that's about it for our little meeting..."

"Then I'll be taking my leave." said Death.

"Actually, there's one last thing, Lord Death." Mabaa said.

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"-has anyone ever told you that you're very attractive under those robes?"

"No. But I'm sure the same could be said of you, Lady Mabaa."

Mabaa removed her hat, exposing her short white hair and olive skin. She shot the Shinigami a smile, "You tell me."

Eruka croaked in surprise, "Are they... flirting?"

"Afraid so..." sighed Marie, folding her arms over her chest. This new Death was certainly more light-hearted than the one she knew most of her life. She'd never forget the words she told her the night before, when he first brought Crona home.

'_Tell Stein that what he did was unforgivable... but I see he has good in his heart, because I've seen his love for you. If he keeps up his good behavior- and has no more outbursts- you two can finally be together again in a few years.'_

He really did care about Stein.

* * *

><p>"Good morning, Crona!"<p>

Crona's eyes slowly fluttered open to meet the sight of Death the Kid, laying on his knees at the foot of the bed.

"Like Father said, he's busy today," he exclaimed happily, "-but he told Kami to take us out to see the city! So, where do you want to go?"

Crona blinked nervously, "I-I don't know…"

Kid looked at her strangely, "Didn't Medusa ever take you out for some fun?"

"No…" the pinkette sighed. Ragnarok then emerged from her back, opening his mouth for a loud yawn.

"I'm hungry, Crona!" he shouted, "-let's go get some breakfast!"

"A-allright…" she said, "-just let me change out of my pajamas."

"I'll be waiting outside. After you get ready, I can show you around the academy before we go out." said Kid as he hopped off the bed and went outside the room, waiting in the hallway.

"So, whadda think of this joint?"

"Huh?"

"I mean I hate here. Don't tell me you wanna stay?!"

"W-well…. Kid's really nice to me… and I said I would be his friend…"

Ragnarok pinched her nose, and she squealed in pain. Ragnarok whispered in her ear, "Look… I'll give ya a week to come to your senses and blow this joint. We can go join Arachnophobia and work for your Aunt Arachne... "

"But… I… like it here…"

"Look, I don't wanna live with some OCD demigod! If we can find your Aunt Arachne, then we'll be living like kings! So, I'll give ya a week to think on it… and if we're still here… then I'll never let you sleep again!"

Crona gasped, "No! I couldn't deal with that!"

"Then blow this taco stand before you get too attached to it!" Ragnarok hissed before he sunk back into her body.

"Crona? Are you ready?"

"Yes." she replied, saddened by Ragnarok's demand. She supposed she would have to enjoy her short time with Kid while it lasted.

Kid entered the room once more, looking slightly shaken, "I forgot to make the bed!" he cried, before quickly doing so.

Crona slowly backed up, looking around his room. Pressed against the foot of the bed was a small work desk, probably designed solely for the tiny Shinigami. Carefully organized atop it were pencils and various other supplies. Lying in the exact center of the table was a neatly stacked group of papers.

Without touching anything on the table, figuring it would upset Kid, Crona leaned over and looked at the papers- she couldn't make out any of the strange drawings.

"Kid, what are these?" she asked curiously.

Kid had finished making the bed, and waltzed over to the desk. He smiled, "Oh, those? Well, Father promised he'd hire someone to build me my own house on my tenth birthday. So, these are my designs. Never can start to early, huh?"

"I guess." replied Crona.

"The symmetry will be absolutely perfect..." swore Kid, "-I'm going to call it... the Gallows Manor!"

"That sounds pretty dumb." said Ragnarok.

Kid's eye twitched in irritation, "I'll just ignore that..."

Crona looked at the drawings of the house in confusion, "Wow... so you can understand all of this, huh? You must be pretty smart..."

"Yes. Being a Shinigami makes me stronger, faster and smarter than any normal kid our age. But enough about me, it's time to show you around the academy, Crona."

* * *

><p>"This is Excalibur's class!" explained Kid. The door was open, so the two kids peaked in.<p>

"-and that's how I invented the cucumber." said a strange little creature standing atop a podium. The students in the auditorium where either asleep, looking tortured, or blanked out.

"I-I don't how to deal with a weird thing like that..." muttered Crona, ducking away a bit.

"Yeah, what the heck is that thing anyway?" asked Ragnarok.

"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black," muttered Kid, "-anyway, Excalibur is the world's most powerful weapon... but, he doesn't have a meister because he's so obnoxious. The only reason father gave him a teaching job here is to test the student's mettle... if you can take one of Excalibur's rants daily, you can take any kind of torture an Arachnophobia member would preform on you."

"-now, for my next epic tale..." started Excalibur. Before he began, his nose twitched, and he spun towards the door, pointing his cane at Kid, Crona, and Ragnarok.

"Fools!" he cried, "-you dare spy on my class?!"

"Run!" cried Kid as the trio ran away.

* * *

><p>"This is the courtyard." said Kid, waving a hand at the vast space.<p>

"It's so big..." whined Crona, knees buckling, "-and we're so high up on this balcony..."

"Ah! If it isn't my Young Lord and his new sister!" Kid and Crona looked over their shoulders to see Justin approaching them. Crona had nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Justin approaching them from behind.

"Oh no! A priest! He's gonna touch you guys!" cried Ragnarok jokingly.

"Ragnarok... he's not going to touch us..." growled Kid.

"Don't worry, Kid. Tell Ragnarok that I can assure him I would never do such a thing to a child." Justin said as he grinned from ear-to-ear.

Justin then went over to Crona, bending over and offering his hand, "It's nice to meet you, Crona."

"Y-you to..." she whispered, gingerly shaking the priest's hand.

"Well, I have to leave, dear children. Have a fun time in town, and may your father's love and mercy shine upon us all!"

While Justin was leaving, Kid was sure he heard Justin mutter something to himself. Something like '-never really talked about you-"

But the young Reaper paid it no mind.

* * *

><p>"This is Mrs. Kami Alburn's class!" said Kid as they looked in through an outside window, "-she teaches the students about souls. She's also Spirit's wife."<p>

"Spirit...?" inquired Crona.

"He was the one who was with my Father when he first found you." explained Kid.

"You mean that ginger dude?" asked Ragnarok.

"Err... I suppose." replied Kid, although he had never heard that term before. Kid then looked over at Crona, "Oh yeah, she's going to be taking us out today."

"Hey! Stop with this mushy 'resonance' bull and teach us the good stuff!" suddenly demanded a punkish student with a green Mohawk.

Kami, who was writing something on the black board, broke her chalk. The cracking sound rung throughout the silent auditorium. Rage burning in her eyes, she turned around, "Tell you what, Mr. Briggs... if you and your partner come down here and beat me in a fight, then I'll skip the chapter on soul resonance."

Brigg's meister, a buffer punk with a blue Mohawk, high-fived his partner. Briggs then turned into a long chain.

"HERE I COME...!" cried the punk, charging Kami and wildly swinging his chain around. Kid and Crona watched in bewilderment, while Ragnarok was at the edge of his seat (Crona's head) in anticipation.

The punk swung the chain, but it never hit it's mark. Kami had caught the chain in a single hand. The punk tried pulling his partner back, but with a single tug, Kami yanked both students towards her. Faster than most students could follow, Kami quickly grabbed at thick textbook and reared it back.

"KAMI CHOP!"

The punks flew against the wall right next to the window where Kid and Crona were peaking in. After sticking to the brick surface for a few seconds, the weapon fell to the ground, transforming back into a human. As he struggled to stand, his partner then fell off his spot on the wall and landed on his weapon.

"Whoa." breathed Kid. He was a Shinigami and she was human... yet their strength was worlds apart, hers clearly taking the giant lead.

Crona's eyes widened. Kami saw the two children and gave them a small wave.

"Okay class, I've decided that the quiz is tomorrow... but it'll be open-book." she said as if nothing had just happened.

The class cheered- save for the two beaten punks.

"Oh, and ..." called Kami over the cheers of her students.

"Y-yes ma'am?" asked the dazed weapon, who was trapped under his larger partner.

"I'd like you and your meister to stay after class and write a 5000 word paper on why it was stupid to challenge me."

"Yes ma'am..." said the weapon before passing out.

"I don't know who this Kami lady is, but I like her!" said Ragnarok happily.

* * *

><p>After showing her the cafeteria, bathrooms, and several other classes, Kid and Crona were waiting on at the top of stairs leading to the Shibushen, watching the last wave of students leaving the academy to go home.<p>

"So, you have no idea were to go, huh...?"

"No..." sighed Crona, kicking her legs out.

Kid smiled at her, "I know a fun place we can go. Have you ever been to an amusement park?"

"What's that?"

Ragnarok popped out of her back, excited, "Yeah! That's a great idea! They have alot of fun rides there... and great food to boot."

"Hey. Here comes Kami now." announced Kid.

The master meister bent down to meet Crona,"You must be the new kid that was peeping in on my class with Kid. So, Crona, was it? My husband told me about you."

Crona softly smiled. Even though she had just witnessed the woman knock two thugs silly, she had this warm, motherly feel about her. Of course, Crona had never felt that before and couldn't describe it- Kami was kinda like what Crona would expect a mother bear to be like.

"So, ready to go?"

"I-I'm ready." confirmed Crona. She was really starting to like it there. She might have to convince Ragnarok to let her stay.


	4. The Carnival

Kid, Kami and Crona walked through the streets of Death City, Kid pointing out several various things to Crona. They had driven the first few miles- Crona nearly passed out, having never been in a car before, and felt intimated by all the rolling and rumbling and other metal monsters rolling past. So Kid opted to walk the last few miles instead of driving through the busiest parts of Death City. Not only would this save them the trouble of finding a parking space, but it let Kid show of his father's city to his new sister.

"...and over there is 'Deathbucks'. It serves coffee. Mr. Joe seems obsessed with the stuff, but I don't really like it."

"You will when you're a big Death God and need to work." promised Kami.

"I've never had coffee." said Crona quietly, "-what's it like?"

"It's a brown drink made from beans," explained Kami, "-it's bitter, but it gives you a nice boost of energy. It's more for grown ups, Crona. I don't think you'd like it."

"O-oh. Okay..." Crona responded

"When are we gonna get to the carnival?!" whined Ragnarok, popping out of Crona's spine, "-I want some cotton candy!"

"Just a few more minuets, Ragnarok." sighed Kami, already sick of the demon sword's attitude.

"Yeah, Ragnarok. Look, you can see it from here." said Kid, pointing towards the large collection of rides and tents. Kami and the kids finally reached it, walking through the large entrance gate.

The carnival sat under the midday sun of the Nevada desert. The smells of popcorn, cotton candy, and other cheap snacks invaded everyone's noses. Medusa's child felt somewhat dizzy and scared looking at the vast array of colors and spinning contraptions that the carnival had to offer.

"Hey there, little guy! Wanna balloon?" Kid heard a goofy voice say.

Looking to his side, he saw a clown that had a fullbody suit- one side was blue with yellow stripes, while the other was purple with red dots.

Kid nearly puked at the grotesque site. He spun around to Crona, trying to avert his gaze fro the disgusting abomination that was the clown's garments.

When Kid looked up, he saw that Crona's eyes were wide, and she was shaking like an Autumn leaf.

Kid's eyes widened as well- in concern for his new sister. This wasn't her usually nervousness around others. This was pure terror.

"Crona... are you alright?" asked Kami, noticing Crona's fear as well.

"Oh, yer kids are scared of clowns? Sorry, I'll leave." said the clown.

"No, it's alright." assured Kami. She slowly scooted Crona forward, "C'mon, Crona. It's just a clown."

Kami, Kid, and the clown's eyes all widened in surprise.

Crona began bawling and broke away from Kami. The pinkette was dashing towards a nearby ticket booth, tears streaming from her eyes like leaky faucets.

"Geez, I'm sorry..." said the clown, rubbing the back of his head.

"It's alright... Kid, could you go check on her? She seems to trust you the most." asked Kami.

"Okay." said Kid, jogging over to Crona's hiding place.

"Crona... are you alright?" asked the concerned Shinigami, ducking under the table. Crona was sitting in the corner, bawling into her knees.

"K-K-Kid!" she sobbed, "-he's-he's h-here!"

"Who's here?" asked Kid softly.

"T-the c-c-clown!" she sobbed, continuing to shake in terror.

Kid sat by her under the table, "'The' clown? What're you talking about, Crona?"

"Lemme enlighten you." said Ragnarok, emerging from Crona's back, "See, Medusa used to have some goon she made from black blood- it was a clown."

"Crona was scared of it?"

"Yeah. He tried to eat us." said Ragnarok with a shiver-"-I friggin' hate clowns... I only came here 'cause I wanted some cotton candy."

"And you thought it would be a good idea to take her to a carnival?!"

"I didn't know she would react like this!" swore Ragnarok.

Kid sighed at the demon sword's antics. He then returned his attention to his new sister,"Crona... I'm sorry to hear that."

"P-please, Kid... I-I-I'm scared..." she sniffled, clinging to his arm.

"Crona... listen. I know you're scared... but the clowns out there... they're not like the one that tried to eat you. They just want to make you laugh. And as grossly asymmetrical as they are... they don't want to hurt you."

"B-but..."

"Crona... trust me. If anyone ever tried to hurt you, I would protect you. So would Ragnarok."

"Glad to finally get some recognition!" shouted Ragnarok.

"A-alright. Thank you, Kid." sniffled Crona.

"Hey, guys." said Kami, peaking under the table. She had three cotton candies in her hands, "-you okay, Crona?"

"I-I'm feeling better. T-thank you, Mrs. Albarn." she responded.

"Gopi! Cotton candy!" cheered Ragnorak as he grabbed one of the pink, fluffy treats.

Kid and Crona emerged from under the table. Kid accepted the remaining candies from Kami, handing one to Crona.

"I never really had cotton candy before..." admitted Kid with a blush before he took a small bite, "-but I like it. It's fluffy and sweet, and it's colored just like your hair, Crona."

Crona nearly choked on the on her fluffy candy, but luckily for her, it quickly dissolved.

"Ah... young love." laughed Kami. It was Kid's turn to nearly choke on the cotton candy.

"Relax, Kid. I'm just teasing!" assured Kami with a giggle, as they walked from the table to the carnival's center.

"So, which ride do you guys want to use first?" asked Kami, looking down at the children.

"I'm still looking… I'll only ride on something perfectly symmetrical!" said Kid defiantly.

Crona stared at all the death traps in fear, "T-they're all going so fast... they're all so scary…"

"So, it has to be symmetrical and slow, huh? I guess a roller coaster's out of the question." Kami sighed, slightly irked at having to find a ride that fit the kid's strict criteria.

Kid snapped his fingers, "I got it!"

The young Shinigami pointed over to the merry-go-round, "The horses are all arranged so that there's a perfectly even number of ones neighing and ones only prancing- each one rises and descends in perfect harmony… it's also nice and slow. It's perfection!"

Kami shrugged, "I guess if you really want to…"

Crona gulped, "I don't know, Kid… some of those horses look kinda scary…"

Kid gently patted her shoulder, "Don't worry. It's perfectly safe."

Ragnarok finished another cotton candy, "Yeah, Crona! Don't be such a wimp."

Kid glared daggers at Crona with his golden pupils, causing the little blob to awkwardly slink back into Crona's spine. After he was gone, Kid looked back over at Crona, "If you're too scared, then don't worry. And don't listen to Ragnarok. You don't have to ride it if you don't want to."

Crona swallowed her fear, "No… I'll try it… it might be fun."

Kami helped Kid and Crona onto the same horse, and then she went over and stood, watching the kids with her arms folded over her chest.

The merry-go-round slowly started, sluggishly beginning to twirl. Crona reached around and grabbed the chest of Kid's shirt, her breath hiking.

"Don't worry, Crona," comforted Kid, "-like I said, it's perfectly safe."

Crona's breathing started to slow, and she slightly shifted her head, peaking out from behind Kid and watching the giant, spinning golden pillar at the center of the merry-go-round.

Suddenly, the ride seemed to slow down for Crona. It was actually... relaxing.

She snuggled into her new brother's back, her eyes squeezed shut. No, she defiantly didn't want to leave. Not only would she miss Kid, she would miss all her other new friends.

She looked back at the spinning pillar, seeing their faces appear as the mechanical horse slowly pranced about. Lord Death, Marie, Kami, Justin... she didn't want to leave them. She wanted to stay at the Shibusen.

"AWWOOOOHHH!"

Kami looked startled. She ran around the merry-go-round to go check what exactly that unearthly howl was. As she was doing that, parents began grabbing their children from the rides and stampeding away.

Whoever was manning the merry-go-round stopped the machine and fled, and the only children remaining on the mechanical horses were Kid and Crona.

"W-what w-was that?!" stuttered Crona, once again reaching around Kid's chest and latching onto the front of his shirt in fear.

"I... don't know..." responded Kid.

It was then Kid and Crona heard another unearthly howl, this time, dangerously close. Kid quickly grabbed Crona and jumped off the merry-go-round, right before a huge, hairy claw smashed it.

Kid and Crona landed, seeing a werewolf standing atop the demolished ride. He pounded his chest as if he were an ape and gave a mighty howl, sounding above even the sounds of carnage the rest of his pack were making in the background.

"Sorry kids, but Lord Death is gone..." he roared, "-and while we prefer hunting under the moon, my pack couldn't let this opportunity go to waste..."

"You…" growled Kid at the wolfman, "-you destroyed the only symmetrical ride in the area!"

The werewolf grinned happily as Kid accused him. He was proud of the carnage he reeked. He hissed through his white fangs, "Yeah, so what?"

Kid clenched his fist and brandished it towards the hairy monster, "As my duty as a Reaper, I'll have to punish you for this transgression against the innocent people of Death City!"

Crona, who was currently hiding behind Kid, was somewhat comforted by his brave speech, although she didn't understand half of the eloquent words he was using.

The werewolf raised his claw, but was intercepted by Kami. Thrusting her palm into his ribcage, she forcefully transferred some of her own soul energy into the wolfman's body, breaking his ribs and sending him flying back, howling in agony.

Kami shifted into a fighting stance and looked back at both children, "Go! Find a safe place to hide while I take care of these guys!" she ordered.

"But Crona and I can help…" urged Kid.

"No! I can't put you two in danger! Now go!"

Kid growled at his inability to help. He grabbed Crona's hand and ran back, he and Crona ducking behind a ticket booth. From there, they watched the battle unfold.

It was quite a fight. Kami was beating back the entire pack- while most didn't look to tough, some of the pack were the scariest, nastiest looking monsters you could lay your eyes on.

But Kami was a 3-star meister, and it showed. She beat back the pack with superhuman power, but it was obvious she was wearing down. After about 5 minutes of battle, she was matted with sweat and every now and again a werewolf would pounce from behind and get a swipe in on her, grazing her skin and causing splashes of blood to fly out, further fueling the werewolf pack's bloodlust.

"She'll die if it keeps going like this..." growled Kid bitterly as a werewolf snuck from behind and raked his claws across her back, before she spun around and snapped his neck.

"B-but what can we do?" asked the frightened Crona.

Ragnarok made his appearance, "-Crona, in case you're as dumb as you are ugly, we're a demon-weapon and stripes over there is a Reaper."

"B-but I can't deal with becoming a weapon!" she cried in dismay.

"Please, Crona," begged Kid, "-if we don't help Mrs. Albarn, those werewolves will kill her. And I can't do this without you."

"A-alright. I'll deal with it for you, Kid."

"Gopi!" cheered Ragnarok, "-feast your eyes, stripe boy!"

With a flash of purple light, Crona and Ragnarok morphed into a black twinblade. Due to Crona being a child, the weapon was sized to fit in the hands of her age group- fortunately for Death's son, this allowed him to wield the small weapon.

Landing in Kid's hands, a short examination of the symmetrical weapon took Kid's breath away. Running his hand over the handle, he discovered a small notch.

"What's this…?" he pondered, before giving the handle a twist.

With that small twist, the twinblade split into two parts.

Kid's OCD had never been more satisfied.

He twirled each blade in both hands, firmly yet delicately, as if he were carrying a newborn baby.

He paused for a moment, looking down at the left blade, where he could see Crona's reflection.

"Crona… you're the most beautiful thing I've ever had the pleasure to lay my hands on."

"Hey, Loverboy!" shouted the blade that held Ragnarok's soul, suddenly growing a pair of red lips, "-ain't ya forgetting something?"

"Right…" said the 5-year old Shinigami in determination, looking towards where Kami was fighting off the pack of wolfmen. She was battered and bruised, and didn't look like she could hold them off for much longer.

He clicked both blades back together, before placing the complete weapon at his side, both hands on the handle. With a mighty shout, the little Shinigami rushed into the fray, slashing at werewolf preparing to slash at Kami from behind.

"Kid?!" what do you think you're doing?!" exclaimed Kami.

"You need my help!" shouted Kid as he spun around, snapping the blades together for a moment to slice a werewolf twice before snapping them apart again, then performing an 'x' slicing attack against the werewolf's chest.

Kami growled, striking a pouncing wolfman in the chest, sending more of her soulforce into his body and sending him spiraling back, "Don't think your father won't hear about this! You're going to be in so much trouble, Kid!"

"I'd rather be grounded than have you dead!"

The werewolves all growled and barked, more driven than ever to kill this woman, as well as the odd little boy that just entered the fray.

"Let's rip 'em to shreds!" one cried, as he and the rest of his pack charged.

* * *

><p>"This isn't good, Spirit. This isn't good!" he exclaimed under his breath, looking back at his daughter. She was sitting on a bench, looking bored.<p>

"Why would you take her to a park, you idiot?!" cried Spirit to himself, slapping his forehead in frustration, "-she's gonna hate you even more after this... no, I can still do this thing!"

Spirit then contemplated his next move. He rubbed his chin,"Now, what does she like? She loves reading... just like her mom...yeah, there's still time to save our relationship!"

Spirit then saw two children walking by, licking at two drippy icecream cones. The death scythe smiled, "-yeah, I'll get her some icecream then take her to the library!"

"Hey, Maka! Wanna go get some icecream?" Spirit asked his daughter in a cutesy voice.

"Whatever." breathed Maka, eager to get home and away from her father.

Spirit grabbed her by her small hand, practically dragging her by her heels. He smiled brightly at her, "So, how about we go to the library later?"

"I just wanna go home."

Spirit ignored her, (although it broke his heart into millions of pieces) and went up to an icecream cart.

"I'll take a vanilla!" Spirit said cheerily. He looked down to his daughter, "What flavor do you want, sweat-pea?"

"Mint." she sighed. While most kids her age hated mint and would take a chocolate any day, she had unique tastes and preferred mint.

"Sure thing, sir." replied a soft feminine voice.

Spirit then noticed who was serving the icecream- a pretty young woman with a figure that would drive most men wild.

"Oh, hello..." Spirit said, leaning against the stand.

'_Maka thinks you don't love us anymore.' _Spirit heard his wife's words ring in his mind. Spirit's eyes darted down to his daughter, who was staring up at him with hatred burning in her young pupils.

"I refuse your advances, succubus!" cried Spirit unexpectedly, flipping over the icecream cart. With that, he scooped his daughter up and proudly walked away, his chest puffed out.

While the icecream lady looked very confused, Maka looked downright shocked.

"Papa, what was that?" asked Maka as the two began to exit the park.

"Maka, look. Your daddy loves you and mommy more than anything in the whole wide world, and I would never trade you for anything." Spirit said as they walked across the street.

"Then why do you flirt with other ladies...?" asked Maka sadly as they began walking down a sidewalk, towards the front of an electronics store.

Spirit stopped in front of said electronics store. He looked down to his daughter and, with a heavy sigh, said, "I'm so sorry, Maka. That's just how I acted. See... I always... felt like I needed to prove myself, or something. I've always hit on girls... but, the only one I love is your mom. Now, look. I promise I'll get my act together. From this day forwards, the only girl I'll hit on is your mother."

Maka smiled up at him, "You promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die." replied Spirit, pinkie swearing with his daughter.

Spirit felt his heart soar with happiness. His head was wrapped up in the clouds, and for a while he just stood their, totally aloof.

'_Nice going, Spirit. Your daughter still loves ya.' _he thought to himself, looking towards the laughing sun with sparkly eyes.

"Papa! Look!" Maka shouted, snapping the Death Scythe out of his haze.

"Huh? What is it, Maka? You wanna go to the library?"

"No! Look! Mama's in trouble!" cried Maka, pointing towards the electronic store's glass plane, where a T.V. Underneath showed a live broadcast of a blond woman fighting back a pack of wolfmen in an quickly evacuated carnival.

Spirit's heart nearly stopped. He quickly scooped up his daughter, "C'mon, Maka! We have to help her!"

* * *

><p>Kami and Kid stood side by side, panting in exhaustion. The werewolves pack was more than halved, but the remainder now held the edge.<p>

"Looks like you're outta gas..." growled a large werewolf, slowly striding towards Kami. His tail swished back and forth in excitement, and his tongue lolled out of his mouth to lick his razor-sharp claws.

"Kid... you need to... run..." Kami huffed.

"No! I can't leave you here!" cried Kid.

"Time to die!" howled the wolfman, charging Kami. She closed her eyes and held her arms up, waiting for the monster's blow to hit.

But it never did.

She slowly opened her eyes to find her husband standing in front of her, his leg transformed into a scythe blade and jammed into the large wolfman's stomach. Spirit looked back to his wife and winked at her. He tossed the dead werewolf off his leg and turned into a cross-like weapon, landing in Kami's awaiting hands.

"Spirit!" cried Kid in relief, "-you're here!"

"Oh shit!" cursed a werewolf.

"That redheaded dude's a Death Scythe! If that bitch could kill half our pack with just a little brat for backup, how strong will she be wielding him?!"

From behind a ticket booth, Maka watched her mother in anticipation, waiting to see what she'd do to defeat the wolf men

"Run for it!" shouted one werewolf, already starting to turn tail.

But it was too little too late for the marauding wolfmen. Kami twirled Spirit all around her body, finally hodling him above her head, and spinning him around as fast as a helicopter's blades.

"SOUL RESONANCE! DIVINE WIND!" the husband and wife shouted at once. With that battle cry, a mighty blue gale began to kick up, twirling around the whole carnival.

The pack wasn't able to escape, and nearly all of them were either chopped up or violently blown back by the mighty gale.

"Amazing..." said Kid as he watched Kami, "-while it's hurting the evil werewolves, Crona and I remain unaffected... actually no... I do feel something... I feel warm... like I'm being protected."

"It feels nice..." said Crona, appearing on one of the blades.

"Like a nice bubble bath... been awhile since I've taken one of those." Ragnarok inserted.

"Mama... you're amazing... You too, Papa." Maka mouthed silently. Seeing the amazing attack, she finally realized something; her mother was good without her father, and her father was good without her mother, but together, they were truly amazing. Their resonance was one of love.

The wind slowly died down as Kami ceased twirling her husband. With a sigh of relief and exhaustion, she jammed him into the ground and leaned on him, trying to catch her breath.

Spirit then morphed back into a human, and in her leaning position, it was easy for him to pull his wife in for a kiss.

As he pulled away, Kami giggled, "Spirit, stop! Not in front of the kids!"

"Sorry." laughed Spirit, "-I'm just SOOO glad I made it time to help you."

"Hold the phone, assholes!" growled a strained voice from behind them.

A battered, bleeding werewolf held Maka in one paw. His other paw was lifted to her throat, ready to rip it out at a moment's notice.

"H-helpme..." begged Maka, a slight amount of tears welling up in her eyes, even though she was trying to mimic her mother and be tough.

A bestial growl emerged from Spirit, "You FUCKER!"

The werewolf let out a pained laugh, "Now, you're going to look the other way... and let me walk outta here..."

Spirit held his arms outwards, "I want you to kill me."

Kami's eyes snapped open, "Spirit! Are you insane!? What would getting yourself killed accomplish?!"

"I'm not stupid. You're going to kill my daughter the instant you think you're in the clear. I couldn't live after that... so, just kill me. Avenge a few of your pack." Spirit said solemnly.

The werewolf growled happily, "Sure. I'm up for a free kill."

It happened so fast even Kid couldn't follow it.

As the werewolf thrust his sharp claws forward and punctured Spirit's chest, a huge, black blade emerged from Spirit's stomach. Rushing past the werewolf's paw, it shot straight into the werewolf's open mouth, bursting out of the back of it's head.

With a dying gurgle, the wolfman dropped Maka and went limp. He fell to the ground, his claws sunken into Spirit's chest dragging downward and increasing the size of his wounds.

Spirit cried in pain, falling to the ground with a jet of blood shooting from his chest. His previously light-gray shirt now stained dark red with his own blood.

"PAPA!" cried Maka, rushing to her father's side. She shoved her face into his sleeve and began sobbing, "I'm sorry I was mean to you! Please don't die!"

"Spirit! Oh Lord... we need to get you to a hospital. These wounds look bad..."

"Not as bad as that bastards..." said Spirit with a smile, kicking the werewolf's head.

"Stop joking around, you moron!" shouted Kami, tears welling up in her eyes. She picked her husband up, "-we've got to get you to a hospital, ASAP!"

* * *

><p><strong>As much as I love Maka, I find the complete lack of respect that she shows towards her father rather off putting. Yeah, he deserved the cold shoulder, but she treats him like a incompetent moron while idolizing her mother throughout the entire series. However, she does this while constantly learning the only way a weapon and meister can succeed is if they put faith in eachother and worked together. Yet, she still holds onto this idea that Spirit is a total loser and her mom did all the work to turn him into a death scythe. So, yeah, I'm going to do my best to try and mend the Albarn family relationship.<br>**

**Also, about 'the clown' that tried to eat Crona? Yeah, because of the vast difference between the clowns in the manga and anime, I've decided to put my own spin on the good ol' giggling monstrosity. You'll see him later.**


	5. May My Soul Reach You

The ride over was quick, tense, and silent. Kami was focused on driving. Spirit was focused on not bleeding out. In the backseat, all of the children sat together. Kid couldn't shake the feeling that this was in someway his fault for disobeying orders, even though that had nothing to do with it. Maka was bawling, saddened by her mistreatment of her father before his serious injury- although he did somewhat deserve it do to his constant flirtations.

Crona didn't really know how to deal with a crying girl. She even teared up a bit herself. Ragnarok remained silent... even if he did make some snarky comments towards the wrong people at the wrong moments, he didn't want to draw the ire of Kami.

* * *

><p>In the Death City Hospitial's E.R., Spirit's wounds were being treated. Outside, in the waiting room, Maka, Kami, Crona, and Kid all sat.<p>

Crona, frankly, couldn't deal with the place. It reeked of medicine and reminded her to much of the painful experimenters Medusa had preformed on her body. Kid fidgeted silently. At first he was nervous for Spirit, but that quickly set off his OCD. The asymmetrical arrangement of the chairs, old magazines, and crooked coffee table were bothering him like a swarm of gnats.

"Good news, ma'am. Your husband should make a full recovery. We just gave him a blood transfusion, so he should be find. You can come and pick him up tomorrow, although he should probably take a month or two off so his wounds can heal."

Kami let out a heavy breath of relief, "Thank you, doctor."

Maka sighed in relief as well, then allowed a grin to spread across her face. She turned to Crona and Kid, "Did you hear that? Papa's going to be alright!"

"That's good news." responded Kid.

Kami gently grabbed Maka's hand, "C'mon, Kid and Crona. Let's take you home."

The meister and 3 children exited the hospital. Kid looked up, seeing that the sun was fighting off sleep, and the moon was peaking over the horizon, eager for the night to arrive so he could take his turn in the sky.

"I'm sorry about what happened to your dad." said Kid to Maka, breaking the silence as they piled into the car.

"It's alright. The doctor said Papa will be fine." said Maka as she buckled her seat belt.

"Aren't you Lord Death's son?" she asked Kid, who sat to her left in the middle seat in the back.

"I am." responded Kid.

"And who are you?" Maka asked the pink-haired girl who was buckling into the left seat.

"M-me?" squeaked Crona.

"Yes, you." Maka confirmed with a giggle.

"I-I'm Crona." she stuttered, taping her fingers together.

"Didn't you turn into a weapon when mom was fighting all those werewolves?"

"Y-yes. B-but I'm still getting used to it. It still feels too weird." Crona responded, looking down in shame.

"That's neat. I'm gonna be a meister like Mama when I grow up. And I'm gonna make the best Death Scythe ever! You should come to the academy. We could be good friends."

Kami smiled at her daughter's promise.

"I've never thought about joining the academy..." said Crona softly.

"Well, even if you don't, we can still be friends, right?"

"R-right."

Crona could hardly belief it- the only thing she had that came close to a 'friend' was the little one. Now, in a span of a few days, she was making them left and right.

* * *

><p>Excalibur was a sword of many talents. Or so he believed. However, there was no refuting he was handy with a needle. Or a magic needle, more accurately. Death's cloak granted him a variety of shape-shifting powers, so no ordinary cloak would do.<p>

"-let me tell you, my Lord, that this is very pleasant. Sewing, chatting about the old days..." Excalibur blabbered on, threading a large, black cloth, "-reminds me of the time you, I, and Sir Arthur stormed the castle of the evil warlock Exdeath! Yes, that was an existing tale, no doubt, which I will now recite, in case you've forgotten, which you undoubtedly have, as you were not present."

"Mm-hm." responded Death, taking a moment to adjust his earplugs before going back to chiseling his new, kid-friendly mask.

"Yes, it was a humid, November night on a Tuesday... the sun was shining bright on that Friday, and I glistened in the moonlight as Sir Arthur raised me aloft..."

"Lord Death, we're back." said Kami as she entered the Death Room with Maka, Crona, and Kid in tow, "-and have I got a story for you..."

"Hm? Oh, yes. Excalibur, let's take a break and pick this back up tomorrow."

"Of course, my Lord! I'll be reciting my various tales to the children, if anyone requires my presence." said Excalibur before he strutted off, spinning around his cane and humming a tune.

"-alright, Kami. What is it you wanted to tell me, hmm~?"

Kami put her hands on her hips, "You heard about the werewolf attack earlier today, right?"

"Yes, I did. But you and Spirit defused the situation, didn't you?"

"I did... he was wounded, but he should be fine. But that's not my point... when I gave Kid explicit orders to go hide, he made Crona turn into a weapon and he fought the werewolves with me."

Lord Death looked down at Kid, who store at the ground at his feet in shame.

"I'll let you handle his punishment." Kami said as she grabbed Maka by the hand, "C'mon, Maka, let's go home. I'm exhausted."

"Wait! Can I play with Kid and Crona later?" asked Maka.

"Sure, sweety. Bye, everybody."

"B-bye." Crona replied shyly.

Kami and her daughter left, leaving only Death and his childern. Kid still aimed his gaze to the ground in shame, "I'm sorry, Father."

Death shook his head, "No, son, this is my fault. You're not a normal boy, you're a Shinigami. I had slain several witches by the time I was your age... but that's another story. My point is, it was a different time back then, and I shouldn't forsake the idea of training you early just because we live in peaceful times. That's why I'm going to start training you in the Death God Martial Arts starting tomorrow!"

"Really? Thank you, Father!"

"-and Crona... since you're part of my family now, you'll be targeted by Arachnophobia. While Kid and I will do everything in our power to protect you, you'll need to learn how to defend yourself."

Crona gulped, "B-but... I..."

"Shh..." hushed Death, "-don't worry about it, Crona. I won't kill ya. Oh, by the way... your room is ready!"

* * *

><p>"This is my room...?" asked Crona as she stepped inside of it.<p>

The wallpaper was purple, and the carpet was black. A large bed with pink sheets topped with several stuffed animals was pressed against the side wall, near a closet. Across from the bed was a small cabniet that held a T.V..

"Sweet, a tube!" cried Ragnarok.

Crona heard a creaking, and looked back to see Kid enter her room.

"Nice... although asymmetrical... it's nice." Kid complimented.

"T-thanks, Kid."

"Don't mention it, Crona. Oh, and make sure you go to bed early tonight. Our first day of training tomorrow."

"S-sure thing, Kid."

Kid smiled, "Let's go get some dinner."

* * *

><p>It was the next day, and the early morning sun laughed over Death City and the desert as he spat fire into the air. In his glinting light, a black shadow of a man soared through the sky, a tonfa attached to one arm and two children tucked under each arm.<p>

"...b-but I don't know how to deal with sand, Lord D-Death!" cried the one with pink hair.

"Oh, don't be a weenie, Crona. I want you two to come out here so I can demonstrate a Soul Resonance with Maire here. It might cause panic in the city if I did it at the DWMA." Death said as he landed in the sand. Some of it kicked up as he set the two children down.

"C'mon, you can't be that strong." Ragnarok said as he popped out of Crona's spine.

Death looked cross, "Oh, really? Marie, how about we show Ragnarok just how strong a Shinigami is working with a Death Scythe?"

"Sounds good to me, Lord Death." Marie responded.

"Now, this is the power of Soul Resonance- Kid, Crona- you two might be able to pull something like this off one day, but for now, you'll just be learning the ropes. Oh yeah, and you also might wanna step back."

"Get on with it, already." groaned Ragnarok.

"Alright... SOUL RESONANCE! ELECTRIC JAW!" cried Death and Marie at once.

The sand around them kicked up, and twirled all around. Kid gaped in surprise, and Crona gripped onto Kid in fear, Ragnarok doing the same with Crona's head. The clouds above grew black and began to crackle with thunder and lighting.

"AAAHH!" roared Death and Marie as a bolt of lightning struck Death, temporally blinding Kid, Crona, and Ragnorak. When their vision returned, they saw Lord Death was surrounded by a powerful, crackling aura of the same lightning that struck them.

The Shinigami lifted both hands into the air, and his aura expanded off of his body, rising into the air and forming a giant, floating skull of electricity.

"OK, you're that strong..." Ragnorak admitted.

"We're just getting started!" Marie said.

Death pointed towards a faraway plateau, and the skull seemed to follow his lead. Transforming into countless streams of lighting, it traveled to the giant rock faster than the eye could see, taking the shape of a skull once again, but this time, with it's mouth wide open.

Death's attack then chomped down on the plateau, taking out massive chunk out of it, before imploding into a giant orb of thunder, blowing massive amounts of stone and sand into the air, before it fell back towards the earth once again.

Death smiled at the kids, letting Marie transform back into a human. He began wiping the sand that got on his suit off, "Yeah, so don't expect results like that on your first try. Well, go on- try it."

"O-OK." Crona said with a gulp. She transformed into a weapon with Ragnarok and they were caught by Kid.

"Now... let's see... Father, what do we do?"

Death tilted his head to the side, "Hmm... Marie's a better teacher than I am. Marie, how would you put it?"

Marie lifted her hand up, "That's easy-peasy! See Kid, what you have to do is seek out your partner's soul wavelength... then, find your own- after that, it's only natural to connect the two and pass your wavelength to her- she passes it back, and it becomes stronger, until you both can pull off a super-cool move. Of course, since Ragnarok is also your partner, you'll be sending your wavelength to both of them."

Kid took a deep breath, shutting his eyes. He searched for Crona and Ragnarok's wavelengths... and found them. "Alright... let's do it."

"Transform and pay special attention to their souls, Marie. I have a feeling that their resonance will be special." whispered Death to his weapon.

"What makes you say that?" asked a curious Marie as she turned into a weapon and landed in Death's hand so she could share his ability to view souls.

"Crona and Ragnarok may be in a symbiotic relationship, but they still have two different souls... it's not unheard of for a meister to use and resonate with two, or even more, weapons at once, but Crona and Ragnarok's souls are part of the same weapon. So, their resonance should be special, if I'm not mistaken."

"Alright..." Marie said, taking Lord Death's advice and closely watching their souls resonate.

While Kid's soul was young, he was still a Shinigami, so his wavelength was as large as the average meister's.

Kid's wavelength flowed between Crona and Rangnarok before branching off into two separate wavelengths- however, they were as still as large as the original. They both hit Crona and Ragnarok at the same time before being passed back to Kid.

"No... way..." Marie gasped, "-I knew their resonance would be special... but this is... his rate is double what it should be! He's sending a single wavelength to the weapon, and both Crona and Ragnarok amplify it!"

Kid, now glowing with soul energy, lifted the twinblade up, spinning it around, and finally stopping it with Ragnarok's blade in front of his face.

"_**Scream Resonance: Reaper's Cry!**_"

Ragnarok's blade grew a mouth, and it opened wide. Ragnarok let out an ear-splitting streak, the sound waves traveling forward and hitting a large rock nearby, reducing it to pebbles.

"Good job, Kiddo! You too, Crona and Ragnarok." said Death happily as he rubbed Kid's head. The Shinigami was beaming with pride.

"Than you, Father." Kid replied.

"Hm. You're not as wimpy as ya look, stripes." Ragnarok said before he and Crona transformed back into her human form.

"Kid... how strong will you be when you're an adult?" asked Marie to herself.

"It's not just him..." said Death, "-it's Crona as well. If she, Ragnarok and Kid all manage to become partners and master their respective powers, their power will easily far exceed that of a Kishin's."

"You mean it?!" asked a surprised Marie.

"Well, as long as Kid obtains the lines of Sanzu. But I don't plan on kicking the bucket any time soon." Death said, looking back at his bubbling children with pride.


	6. Wes Meets the Sisters

**OH MY CHRIST. I'M INTRODUCING WES IN THIS CHAPTER.**

**Literally, my biggest concern starting the fic was Wes. I thought he was really cool, and wished he had an appearance in the anime and an actual role in the manga.**

**Here's the thing, however- I've not the slightest idea of how to write his personality!**

**So, piecing together descriptions from the wiki and other fanworks, he'll be more or less like Soul- except he's more sarcastic, extroverted, and confident. Oh, and while he acts cool, he won't really push it.**

**I didn't want to make him seem to formal, nor to much like a laid back coolguy, 'cause he shows signs of both. Giving him his personality was really fuckin' hard, in other words. SO! If my reckoning of his personality doesn't match yours, I apologize. But hey, it's an AU, and he's barely ever shown, so I could've made him a hotdog salesman if I wanted to.**

* * *

><p>The time had come.<p>

"Just hurry up and right that stupid note so we can get the Hell outta here, Crona!"

"I'm writing as fast as I can, Rangarok! And it would be faster if you didn't yank on my hair while I'm thinking about what to write!"

"That's your own fault, you moron! You should've thought about that before ya started writing!"

Crona sniffled once more, finally finishing her note. She lifted it up and read it one last time. Al thought many words were misspelled, it was readable-

_I'm sorry for leaving, Kid and Lord Death. Tell Maka I'm sorry too. I'm sorry to all of my new friends. __I want to stay,__ but Ragnarok is making me leave. __Goodbye, I hope we can meet again some day._

With another sniffle, the demonswordsman placed the note in the arms of an oversized red teddy bear and grabbed her duffel bag, dragging it across the floor on her way out. She slowly opened the door, making sure it didn't creak.

"Alright, good. Look's like everyone's in bed or gone... now we can make a clean getaway." Ragnarok whispered to Crona.

"Lovley evening, isn't it, Crona? Wouldn't you say so too, Ragnarok?"

Crona and Ragnarok both screeched in surprise when they heard Kid's deadly serious voice come from behind them.

"K-K-Kid..." Crona stuttered, trying to hide her bag behind her back, even though Kid had clearly already seen it.

"Planning on going anywhere?" asked Kid, glaring at Ragnarok.

"N-no." Crona gulped.

"Did you put Crona up to this?" Kid growled at Ragnarok, shoving his finger into the blob's face.

Ragnarok bit Kid's finger, and the little Shinigami pulled away with a grunt of pain.

"What if I did, stripes?" spat Ragnarok.

"Look here..." said Kid, "-Crona's staying right where she is, you hear me?"

"She'll go where I tell her to go!" Ragnarok shot back.

Kid was starting to lose his temper. His tiny fingers curled into a fist... he wished with all his heart that Ragnarok wasn't apart of Crona. He had done nothing but spit insults and bully his new sister since the day he met her.

However, Ragnarok was the very essence that flowed through Crona's veins- the vital fluid that her heart pumped throughout her body. Ragnarok was untouchable. He had hit him only once- but Kid highly doubted that would work again.

'_What's his problem...?'_ Kid asked himself angrily.

Then it hit him. A something his father said long ago.

He was only three, and his father, still clad in his skull mask and ragged cloak, lifted him up. He looked down at Kid, "Son, never be afraid to fight evil. But sometimes, you'll face situations where force would only make things worse. That's where diplomacy comes in. Remember, when you're dealing with others problems, you've got to keep the golden rule in mind- treat others as you'd treat yourself. Empathy.'

Kid smiled, knowing exactly how he'd defeat the black blob.

"Okay, Ragnarok. Let's just say you did somehow manage to find Arachnophobia's homebase- something my Father, with his unlimited resources, wasn't able to do. I'm sure you'll find it attached to a scared child. Then what? You think Medusa's sister would accept you with open arms? What if she's just as, or even crueler, than Medusa?"

Ragnarok was stunned silent as Kid debunked his whole plan. But Kid went on, "-but here you have a purpose, a nice room with a T.V., all the food you can eat- and friends."

Ragnarok was genuinely stunned at that. Even before Medusa turned him into black blood, he lived the life of a thuggish lone wolf- he purposely pushed people away, even before he was a freak.

Now, the practically prince of the world, was offering to be his friend.

"Alright, stripes, ya win. We'll stay right where we are." Ragnarok relented, "-but I better be getting some good eats after this! Also, I want a Gamestation for my room!"

"I'll see to it your accommodations are met."

"-don't worry. I'll take care of you both of you. You're not just my friends, you're my family."

Ragnarok looked back down at Crona. With a scoff, he said, "I guess it ain't so bad around here. C'mon, Crona, I'm tired. Let's hit the hay."

"Goodnight, Crona." Kid said, pulling her in for a hug.

She blushed madly, "T—thanks, Kid..."

She went back into her room, and Kid smiled as she slowly shut the door. Kid beat Ragnarok with logic and diplomacy.

And he'd earn that thing's trust, even if they didn't end up being friends.

* * *

><p>A few years later, across the United States, a young classical musician named Wes Evans was about to meet two girls that would change his life forever.<p>

Wearing his famous little smirk, he gave and slow wave to the crowd. He walked off to the backstage, revealing in the sound of applause. While not exactly the life of a rock star, the teen defiantly didn't have any gripes about his lifestyle.

He swung off his suit's jacket and loosened up his tie, tossing it into his bag. He let out a breath of relief as he packed up his violin.

Exiting the building from the back, Wes walked up to a running sportscar and opened up the trunk, tossing his baggage in, then gently sitting his violin atop.

He slammed the trunk and walked around the car, opening up the door and taking a seat.

"Dude, that was a pretty sweet concert." said his much older friend, Mark.

"Thanks. Practiced my ass off for it too… I deserve to go to this party." said the young teen, leaning his seat back.

"So, you want me to come pick you up in the mornin', right?" Mark more confirmed than asked, turning on his headlights and pulling around from the back of the concert hall.

"Right. I told my old man that I'd report back for dinner tomorrow night, so is it cool if I hang with you and your cousin tomorrow?" asked Wes, placing both hands behind his head.

"Sure. Just leave your junk in my car." responded Mark, slowly tapping on the break at the cue of an upcoming yellow light.

"Man! Speakin' of my cousin, I promised my him I'd come visit him and his girlfriend for dinner in 15 minutes…" Mark remembered at the red light, slapping his forehead at his forgetful nature.

"Where are you meeting them?" asked Wes.

"Ah, it'd be about a 5 minute drive from here, actually. If I pick up the pace, I could drop you off and make it there in time."

About another 5 minutes of driving, they entered the neighborhood where the party was.

"Damn. Speed bumps. If I go down this road, I'll be late…" sighed Mark.

"Just let off here, Mark."

"You sure? This ain't exactly this safest neighborhood… don't feel like you have to get mugged just so I can go to dinner with my cuz and his lady friend on time."

"It's only a couple blocks away. I'm sure I can make it without getting mugged." promised Wes.

"No, dude, c'mon. I can be a few minutes late for my cousin."

"I insist. I can take care of myself."

"Alright… be careful, man."

Wes stepped out from the car, shutting his door and watching his friend peel off. He looked back over to the house where the party he was raging on. The whole house was alight, and it seemed the grinning moon was bobbing to the beat of the music that nearly shook the neighborhood. The violinist began walking forward.

"Hey. Come here, big boy." came a feminine voice from an ally.

Wes looked into the alleyway and blinked. There, he saw two blond girls, a few years younger than himself. They were eyeing him from the shadows. One was a good inch or two taller than him, and the other, much shorter girl, stood behind the tall one, giggling.

Not being able to deny a lady, Wes tucked his hands into his pockets and waltzed over, stopping just in front of the tall one.

"Can I help you ladies?" asked Wes with his little grin.

"Yeah…" growled the tall girl. Before Wes could react, she had grabbed his shoulder and slammed him against the grimy brick walls of the alley. When Wes recovered from the shock, he saw the shorter girl flash brightly as she morphed into a nasty-looking 9mm pistol, landing in the tall girl's awaiting hand.

The pretty mugger held the barrel of the weapon against the violinist's forehead "...gimme all your cash, pretty boy. And make it snappy, my trigger finger's itchy, and so is my sister's barrel."

"Yeah, so drop yer wallet!" agreed the pistol, trying far too hard to sound tough.

Beads of sweat ran down Wes' forehead, but he managed to keep his cool demeanor. He pulled out his wallet, "Alright. Alright. No need to kill anyone…"

The mugger smiled in delight as she tucked the violinists wallet into the back pocket of her jeans.

'_Wow. Talk about tough luck.'_ thought Wes with a sigh of both relief and anger. The muggers prepared to make off.

"Liz! Patty! We've been lookin' for ya!"

Wes and the sister's looked towards the entrance of the alleyway, where a gruff looking man in a brown overcoat and matching cap stood. In one hand, he aimed a revolver at the trio, in the other, he was tucking away a phone.

"I've already called my boys, so there's no use tryin' to run. You bitches are gunna pay for what you've done to-"

The man's rant was interrupted when Liz shot him right in the shoulder, causing him to scream in pain as his flesh was pierced by the purple soul bullet.

The man quickly caught his bearings and began opening fire at them. Wes and the sisters both quickly ducked behind a dumpster.

"'oly crap…" heaved Wes, never having been in such a lethal situation before, "-this isn't cool…"

Ignoring the violinist, Liz pointed Patty around the dumpster, firing her sister and hitting the attacker in the chest with the soul bullets, sending his gun flying through the air and his body spiraling to the pavement.

"Those bitches just killed Joey!" cried another voice from around the corner.

"Dammit…" cursed Liz as Patty transformed back into a human and squatted down next to her sister.

"Theres going to be more of them, isn't there?" asked Wes with a sigh, "-and they'll probably assume I'm with you charming ladies…"

"Guess we're in the same boat." said Liz.

Wes looked up, "Fine, then. Let's scoot." He quickly looked around the alley, and noticed that they could probably scale the short wall of the back alley if they pushed the nearby dumpster against it.

"Here, we could climb over that wall over there if we use this dumpster a footstool. Cover me while I push it, will ya?"

Liz clenched her fist in frustration as she watched the shadows of the nearby aggressors appear on the wall they were squatting against, "Fine… I guess we'll have to work together if we're going to survive this."

"You sure we can trust this guy, sis?" asked Patty to her older sister.

"Awful moody, considering you just tried to mug me…" grumbled Wes as he rolled up his sleeves and pressed his full weight against the dumpster, pushing with all his might, and thanking his lucky stars it wasn't too filled up with junk.

"What was that?" growled Liz as she armed herself with her sister.

"Nothin'..." said Wes as coolly as his nerves allowed. The dumpster scraped against the ground as it made slow progress towards the wall.

As more creeps rounded the corner, Liz began firing as wildly as possible, causing the gangsters to duck away. They couldn't afford to get into an open gunfight without cover.

"Who are these morons, anyway?!" grunted Wes as he continued pushing against the dumpster.

Liz backed up while continuing to fire Patty like a madwoman, "You know… just the mob… we kinda… owed them some money..."

"Classy…" muttered the sweaty Wes as the dumpster finally clinked against the wall.

"Quick, let's climb over!" cried Liz as she tucked her sister away in her pocket, hopping atop the dumpster with Wes.

"Fill those bitches with lead!" cried one of the mob gangsters as he and his crew finally were able to open fire.

'_Soul's never gonna believe this little adventure...' _thought Wes to himself as he landed on the other side of the wall in a squatting position, flinching a bit from the sudden jolt of the impact that ran up his legs.

Liz, however wasn't so lucky. She landed awkwardly in her haste, causing her to viciously twist her ankle.

Wes sprinted forward while Liz fell to the ground, Patty clattering out of her pocket and transforming back into a human.

Wes squatted next to her as well, quickly examining her ankle.

"Looks like it's gonna be swollen…" Wes determined.

"It's okay…" Liz hissed, "Patty, carry me…"

"Aye-aye, sis!" cried Patty with a salute. Liz transformed into a pistol, who was quickly caught by Patty.

Wes looked surprised, "You guys can turn both turn into pistols, huh? Sweet."

"No time for flattering!" cried Patty, grabbing Wes by the wrist, aiming Liz up at a mobster who was about to hop over the wall. With an accurate shot, Patty knocked the man back down atop one of his comrades who was standing atop the dumpster, ready to follow and pursue the sisters.

After shooting down the thug, Patty began running forward, much faster than Wes could keep up with, causing the younger Thompson sister to drag the screaming Wes across the pavement.

"This… isn't… cool…" mumbled Wes, his mouth full of gravel. Patty was running throughout the backlots of Brooklyn, cutting between warehouses in an attempt to lose the gangsters.

Soon, they heard the cracking of firearms from behind them fade out as the thugs began to lose them.

Patty suddenly halted, trying to catch her breath. Wes dizzily stood, wobbling about as he tried to regain his balance. Finally catching his bearings, he wiped the gravel from off his shirt.

"You're quite the sprinter…" said Wes to Patty.

"Thanks!" she half laughed, half wheezed from lack of breath.

"I think they went this way!" they heard one of the thugs yell, that yell bouncing between the buildings.

Wes quickly scanned the area, finding only a decent-sized crate, the word 'oranges' printed across it. He walked over to the crate, lifting the top and finding it empty. However, it could fit one person…. or a person and two pistols.

"Yo." Wes said to Patty, "-hand me your sister and turn into a pistol. That crate's the only place we can hide, and you two will only fit in your weapon forms."

Patty very hesitantly passed Wes her sister. Wes winked at her, "Thanks. It takes trust to hand over your own sister like that."

Patty blushed. Liz quickly appeared on the barrel of the pistol Wes was holding, "Would you two hurry up?!"

"Right!" said Patty, transforming into a pistol. Wes quickly tucked the sisters away into his pockets, before hastily climbing into the crate.

From a small hole in the wooden box, Wes could see a least 20 mobsters run past the crate. Just when he was about to sigh in relief, he saw two shadowy figures stop right in front of the crate.

"Hey, stay here, Charlie. I'm sure I heard somethin' from down around here. Just take a look around."

Charlie, not a fan of running, was quick to agree, "You got it, chief."

'_Oh sweet Lord….' _thought Wes to himself, his palms becoming clammy,_'...don't look in the crate. Don't look in the crate. For the love of all that's holy, don't look in the friggin' crate...'_

He heard the thudding footsteps of the mobster approaching his hiding place. He quickly pulled out one of the sisters, clutching her between both hands and whispering, "Please don't look in the crate…"

"Mmm. I could go for an orange." he heard the mobster say.

'_I'm gonna have to kill a man because he wanted an orange.'_ thought Wes to himself. Of course, the circumstances were much more complicated than that. But that didn't matter to him. He shakily held the pistol upwards…

As soon as the top of the crate lifted, Wes shot the mobster between his surprised eyes.

The violinist quickly sat up, seeing the man bleed out from his forehead, staining the pavement red. After a few seconds of staring at his carcass, it suddenly burst into black ribbons, leaving behind a red Kishin egg.

"At least the world will be a little better place with him gone…" mumbled Wes as he picked up the soul egg. He stuffed it into his pocket… a memento of this little adventure.

"The hell was that?!" he heard a mobster's shout echo.

"We gotta move!" cried Liz in her pistol form.

"But I'm so tired…" moaned Patty, still in her pistol form as well.

"Don't whine about that! I twisted my ankle!" screamed Liz.

"Don't worry, I'll carry you two. Well, as long as you stay in your pistol forms." promised Wes.

"Hey! You tryin' to imply we're fat?!" cried Liz.

"Of course not. Not that there's anything wrong with a little meat on a lady..." mumbled Wes, somewhat surprised he regained his nonchalant demeanor after just killing a man. He turned and fled.


	7. My Bodyguards

After finally taking shelter in the abandoned warehouse, the trio began to relax. Wes was looking out the busted window, peeking at the moon. Tonight, he looked especially jovial, and he ground his teeth together at a faster pace. It was getting colder, and Wes began wishing he had brought along his coat.

The white-haired teen looked back at the sisters. Liz was tending to her twisted ankle, while Patty laughed in victory as she finally got a fire going with some busted planks of wood.

"So," began Wes as he sat down across from the sisters, "your names were Liz and Patty, right?"

"That's right. I'm Liz, she's Patty, and we're known around here as the Thompson sisters. We're kinda infamous." Liz answered.

"Well, I'm Wes Evans. I tour around and play the violin." introduced Wes as he rubbed his hands over the fire, warming up his numb digits.

"So, what was some rich, pretty boy musician doing in our neighborhood?" questioned Liz, as that neighborhood was a mugging hotspot.

Wes shrugged, "My friend left me off there 'cause he needed to go somewhere, and the party I wanted to go to was only a few blocks away."

"Whoa! You've got some bad luck." laughed Patty, even though she and her sister were the ones to cause his little bout of bad luck.

"Not really." said Wes, "I've had a pretty sweet life so far. Mostly, anyway."

"'Mostly'? What happened?" asked Liz.

Wes sighed, a tinge of sadness showing in his crimson eyes. He reached out his hand, "Lemme see my wallet...?"

Liz handed over the wallet, and Wes pulled out a picture of a tall woman in a red dress. She had crimson eyes, shark teeth, and wild, ebony hair.

"My mother." explained Wes, "-she died in an Arachnophobia bombing a few years ago. My dad was the most devastated, but he pulled through."

"Oh… I'm sorry, Wes. She was real pretty." tried to comfort Patty. But after that, she looked down sadly, a slight amount of tears shimmering in her big blue eyes.

"What's wrong, Patty?" asked Wes, concerned.

"Our mom abandoned us." said Liz bitterly, pulling her sobbing sister in for a hug.

"...sorry." said Wes, "-anyway, I was supposed to go to party tonight and my friend would pick me up in the morning. So, where do you two live?"

"We just kinda… drift… around the city, that is." replied Liz.

Wes let out a small huff, taking a look around the warehouse. He watched a rat scurry over a busted up crate in the back. The rodent was nibbling on a small bit of some sort of leftover food. Seeing the rat eat reminded him of how hungry he was.

"You two hungry?" asked Wes to the sisters.

"Yeah…" mumbled Patty, "-we haven't eaten for awhile."

"Here…" said Wes, pulling a candy bar from his dress pants, "-you can have it. I ate after the show, so I'm fine."

Of course, Wes was lying, but he couldn't very well eat in front of two ladies that could have gone much longer without a meal than him. Liz took the bar and unwrapped it, but her eyes darted over to Patty and her motherly instincts kicked in.

"Thank you, Wes. Here, Patty. You can have the whole thing."

"You mean it? What about you, sis?"

"I'm fine. I won't be walking very much because of my twisted ankle anyway. You need to keep up your strength." answered Liz with a small smile.

"Yah! Thanks, sis! Thanks, Wes!" Patty cheered with a giggle. The younger Thompson sister then shoved the whole candy bar into her mouth, merrily chewing on the sweet treat.

Liz soon regretted her decision not to split the bar with Patty as her stomach growled.

"Wait! I do have this…" Wes said, as he remembered the Kishin Egg in his pocket.

Wes pulled out the kishin egg he collected from the mobster, "Weapon's can eat souls, right? Could this fill you up?"

"I don't know. I've never eaten a soul before." said Liz, "It's worth a shot, I guess."

Liz took the corrupt soul from Wes and hesitantly held it to her mouth. Then, in a quick movement, placed it in her mouth. With a few hard chews, she ate it.

"So? How was your first soul?" Wes asked with a small smile.

Liz sighed, "It didn't taste like anything... and it feels like I still haven't eaten anything!"

Wes shrugged, "Well, it makes sense that it wouldn't go to your stomach, I guess. Well, time to get some shut eye. Night, ladies."

* * *

><p>The morning soon came to take the chilly night's place, and Wes was awoken when the laughing sun shone his rays into the abandoned warehouse.<p>

With a groggy sigh, he tried to get up, but was halted by two weights on his right. He looked over- Liz was snuggling up to his arm, and Patty to his leg.

"Liz, Patty. Please." he slurred sleepily. While he hardly ever woke up groggy, waking up in the middle of a filthy warehouse in the cold after being nearly gunned down by the mafia could make you a bit cranky in the morning.

"Mornin'." Liz grumbled, releasing his arm and lightly kicking Patty, "Time to wake up, Patty."

"5 more minuets..." Patty yawned,

Wes yawned in return, "Look, my dad and little brother are staying in our villa across town. Let's see if we can get over there and-"

"FREEZE!" cried a gruff voice from the outside.

Next thing the trio knew, they were bursting from the warehouse, the mob in hot pursuit.

"Look!" cried Liz, "-a car!"

"You gonna hotwire it?"

"That's the plan! Hold 'em off with Patty!"

Patty turned into a weapon and was grabbed by Wes. The violinist spun around and opened fire at their pursers. Wes and the gangsters took turns ducking behind cover and firing at each other.

"OK... I'm done!" Liz said excitedly.

Wes quickly yanked open the passenger's seat and hopped in. The mobsters came out of their cover, firing at the car.

Thinking quickly, Wes held Patty sideways and shot open the car's front window, then continued firing at the mobsters in front of them. Most ducked out of the way, then Wes stuck his upper body out his side's window. He laid down a round of suppressing fire, until Liz rounded the corner of the warehouse, pealing away.

Wes, Patty, and Liz, still in her weapon form, all cheered in unison as they realized they had escaped death. Wes laughed, "Liz, are you even old enough to know how to drive?"

"Not really, no." she answered, "-but are you complaining?"

"Not at all. Anyway, we should probably ditch this car after we've put enough distance between us and those bastards. It's riddled with bullet holes, and would attract too much attention-"

Wes was cut short by a flash of violent red hitting the car's right side, blowing out the tires.

"OH CRAP!" Wes and the sisters all cried at once as their jacked car span out of control, landing in a construction site, where it landed on it's flat tires with a violent bounce. Coughing, Wes pushed his airbag out the way before rolling out of the car, the sisters right behind him.

"I wouldn't be so cheery if I were ya'll… or have you forgotten 'bout me?"

A woman was standing atop the beams. She had wild, fiery hair and a tommygun slung across her shoulders.

"Who's that…?" asked Wes.

"It's… Bonnie…" Patty squeaked in response.

"...and her boyfriend, Clyde. He's a tommygun, and Bonnie's his meister, too." added Liz in a defeated tone.

"She's a big meanie… she's the one who wants to kill us for not paying her money back on time…" Patty said.

"Wes, just surrender. We can't beat her." said Liz.

Wes looked over at the two guns in his hands, "You girls can't just give up like this!"

Bonnie pointed her tommygun down at Wes, "Time to die, kiddies!"

Wes ran across the construction site as Clyde spat hot soul bullets at his heels. Wes and the Thompson sisters quickly dived behind a crane, and Bonnie continued to fire the weapon at the large machine.

Wes ducked and covered his head as Clyde blew out the crane's window, showering glass ontop of him. Wes looked down at his weapons, "Hey, you think we could pull off a soul resonance…?"

"Are you kidding? We've never been formally trained! And I doubt you have, either." Liz said.

"It's worth a shot…." growled Wes detrimentally, "-c'mon, girls. I can only do it if you put our hearts into it, too. Even if it doesn't work, at least we died cool."

"C'mon, Liz. I trust Wes." Patty pleaded.

"Alright… alright… let's go with a bang." Liz folded with a small smile. She and her sister turned into pistols so Wes could wield them.

Screaming in effort, Wes attempted to transfer his soul energy to Liz and Patty. Both he and the weapons began to glow with an aura the faintest shade of blue.

'_C'mon, Wes! Reach into your soul!'_

His blue aura slowly began to glow more intense. His soul wavelength went over to Liz and Patty, and they passed it back to Wes. They repeated the process for about a minute.

"That crane won't last much longer, kids!" cried Bonnie as it caught fire.

"Let's do it!" shouted Wes. He stepped atop the crane, jumping over the fire and into the air, pointing Liz and Patty down at Bonnie and Clyde.

"You're mine!" shouted Bonnie as she aimed Clyde upwards.

"Let's go! Soul resonance!" cried Wes, more power flowing through his body than he had ever felt, "-double machine guns!"

Liz and Patty suddenly morphed into two matching machine guns, and began raining purple energy bullets down on Bonnie and Clyde at ludicrous speeds. The mob boss couple cried in pain as their bodies were ripped apart by the assault, soon being reduced to Kishin eggs.

Wes landed on both feet, laughing to himself. Liz and Patty transformed back into pistols, then back into humans.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" cheered Patty.

"How-how did we do that?!" asked Liz in confusion.

"I don't know…" said Wes, looking at his own hands in confusion, "-I-I just felt the energy flowing through me, and it was just what came to mind."

Wes laughed a bit, looking west, "Hey, I think I see a bus stop over there. My dad's villa is spitting distance from a bus stop I saw near it."

"So… I guess this is goodbye." said Liz sadly.

"Bye, Wes…" Patty said sadly.

"Actually… I could use a couple of bodyguards. Would you ladies be interested?"

"You'd… you'd really let us be your bodyguards?" asked Liz, stunned, "Even though we tried to mug you and almost got you killed?"

Wes shrugged nonchalantly, "Hey, if you like living the thug life…"

"No… please, we do… it's just… why?" Liz asked, happy but confused.

Wes smirked at them, "An illustrious gentleman such as I would never leave his partners behind."

* * *

><p>"Wes is late for dinner...?", whined a little boy with unruly white-hair. Stabbing a meatball onto his fork, he spun it around to surrounded the meatball in spaghetti. He then lifted the fork up to his mouth, opening his maw wide, exposing his razor-sharp teeth, before biting the spaghetti off, "... so uncool. It isn't like him."<p>

"He's says he hired a couple of new bodyguards that he'd like us to meet." responded the boy's father. Like his son, he had unruly white-hair, but it was starkly contrasted by a neat little white beard of the same snow-white.

The doors to the dining room swung open, revealing a neatly dressed young man with white hair and two elegant, younger teens at each side.

"Dad, Soul. These two lovely ladies are my new bodyguards. I'd like you to meet Liz and Patty Thompson."

"'Bodyguards'? More like girlfriends!" snickered Soul.

"No reason to be jealous, little bro." Wes shot back, causing Soul to blush and growl. He angrily stabbed into another meatball.

"Wes! Your little brother's so cute~!" Patty said, running over and pinching his cheek.

"Cut it out! You're not even that much older than me!" grunted Soul as he slapped Patty's hand away.

"But you look just like your daddy and brother!" Patty squealed, pinching both of Soul's cheeks, exposing his shark teeth. Soul struggled against Patty's grip in a vain attempt to get free.

Mr. Evans sighed, "Wes, you're not being serious about hiring these two as bodyguards, are you? You're usually so much more well behaved than this..."

Wes quickly raised his hands in defense, "Come on now, dad. There's more than meets the eye when it comes to these two. Ladies, why don't we show my father here what I mean?"

"Right!" said Patty and Liz in unison. They both turned into flashes of light and zipped into the awaiting hands of Wes, turning into pistols. Wes gave the sisters a twirl on his fingers before pointing them towards the bowl of spaghetti at the center of the table, striking a pose.

"Okay, I admit, that's pretty cool." Soul said, scratching behind his ear with his fork.

The head of the Evans household opened his mouth the speak, but was interrupted when a burst of energy shot from Patty's barrel and hit the bowl of spaghetti, blowing noodles and sauce all over the Evans family.

Wes and Soul's father wipe some sauce and noodles off his face before he sunk it into both hands with a heavy sigh. Wes released a nervous laugh. He turned away and hissed to the gun in his right hand, "What the hell, Patty?! Do you want to live at my place or not?!"

"Sorry, Wes..." Patty sighed, "-I got nervous and my trigger slipped."

"Fine, hire 'em. I really don't care at this juncture." Mr. Evans sighed, getting up from the table to take his leave, "-dinner's all over the table, in case any of you are still hungry. Just make sure not to eat any of the glass mixed in."

Liz and Patty turned back into humans and watched Wes and Soul's father pace away before slamming the doors behind him.

"Later, Wes. Have fun cleaning this mess up." Soul snickered, getting up from the table and practically bouncing off.

"Well, that was embarrassing..." sighed Wes. He then turned to Liz with a smiling face covered with tomato sauce, "But hey! At least you ladies got the gig!"

Wes then turned to the younger Thompsan sister, and then angrily yelled, "PATTY! Stop eating off the table and help us clean this place up!"

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><p><strong>YEA! The tale of Wes isn't quite done, but we're almost there. One more chapter with Wes a couple of years after the events of this one, a chapter with BlackStar, and everyone will meet at the first day o' school!<strong>

**Yeah, and I ain't spellin' BlackStar with a 'star' in the middle of it, 'cuz I think an asterisk would just look silly and I'm not going through the necessary trouble of inserting a special character every time I type in one of the main character's names.**

**And while I was writing this chapter, my brother and I had a discussion on who would be the English voice of Wes if he ever appeared in the Soul Eater anime. I was thinking Reuben Langdon doing his Dante voice from DMC 3 and 4. What do you guys think?**

**On a final note, I've decided to do one of those review response things at the end of every chapter... starting... now!**

**TCatX3- Well, I've seen a fanfic or two where Liz and Wes are actually in a romantic relationship. However, I still haven't decided whether or not to pair Wes with Patty, Liz, or Blair.**

**UnflinchingResolve- Well, Kid dropped a logic bomb on 'em. I never thought Ragnarok was unreasonable, he was just kinda a dick. In fact, I don't think he's all that bad a blob (well, at least until Crona defects to the Shibusen). If ya look closely, he actually had a few moments where he shows genuine concern for Crona. **

**Berlin- Thank ya. I try my best.**

**NEKO8Kirona- Yep, Kid and Crona will be partners and so will Wes and the Thompsan sisters. As far as the partner swappin' goes, that's about it. Well, two more, if you've read my Tumblr post about this story, you'll know you I'm talkin' 'bout.**


	8. Falling Star

**Yeah, I was planning on finishing Wes and Soul's story then doing BlackStar's, but I decided to go by chronological order, and the next chapter with Wes and Soul takes place a few years after this one. So, have some StarClan.**

* * *

><p>"Are you excited, son?"<p>

"Of course I am, father."

"What do you think your first soul will taste like...?"

"Victory..." said the young ninja, licking his lips in anticipation.

Perched in a nearby tree with his son, White Star cast his gaze across the village one last time. The head ninja of the StarClan then licked his lips with his elongated tongue, "These fools honestly think putting a mess of spikes all over their village will protect them."

"Tttthiisss will be tttto easssy." hissed someone form the shadows of the next tree over.

"GoldStar." WhiteStar greeted, not even breaking his hungry gaze away from the village, "-I hope you didn't eat any more of Arachne's goons souls. That Mosquito bastard's going to give us another earful if you did."

GoldStar stepped out from the shadows, revealing his tall, lanky form. He had gray and leathery skin, and was nearly bald, only a few tufts of long, wiry hair jutting out from his scalp. A black cloth with a star embroidered where his left eye used to be was wrapped around his head, covering said injury. And like all members of StarClan, he had their signature tattoo upon his arm.

GoldStar gave a shrill laugh, "...yeah, but ssssseeing that sssshrimp go all red is hyssssttttterical!"

"...let's eat, boys." WhiteStar laughed, jumping down from the tree, his righthand man and child behind him.

The three landed in the center of the village. Just then, a cloud of thick smoke rolled over to them. It cleared just as suddenly as it appeared, revealing a tatooed man in dread-locks, dressed in stealth-ops gear and armed with a knife. There was also what looked like a belly dancer, holding an ornate oil lamp.

WhiteStar looked back and forth between his child, the Death Scythe Meister, Sid, and GoldStar. A grin spread from under his mask, "BlackStar, kill the villagers. GoldStar, you take the one with the knife. I'll handle the girl with the demon lamp."

"Sssssure thing, bossss." GoldStar replied with a slimy grin, rushing at Sid. Their blades soon clashed, and their fight took them away from WhiteStar and the belly dancer.

WhiteStar chuckled, "So, you and that guy with the tatoos from the Shibusen...?"

"We are, in fact..." said the lamp, "-and I just so happen to be the Death Scythe, Djinn Galland."

"And you would be...?" inquired WhiteStar towards Djinn's meister.

"Zubaidah. And Lord Death himself has sent Sid and I here to stop you, WhiteStar." she replied.

WhiteStar laughed, "Oh, I'm flattered. Now, be a good girl, let me taste your soul..."

"Your life will end today, you murderer!" she said angrily, holding Djinn aloft. A huge puff of smoke rose from his pipe, and it split apart and reformed into numerous humanoid shapes, all equipped with several different weapons.

They all rushed at WhiteStar, but they were soon vanquished after WhiteStar gave a few half-hearted swings in their various directions. He didn't even look like he was trying.

"Hmph. Cheap tricks like that might have work on puny little goons that've eaten a soul or two, but I've consumed more than you can count. My power is that of a God."

'You're not a God. You're just a crazy serial killer." Djinn spat at WhiteStar.

"A serial killer with an inflated ego at that." added Zubaidah.

WhiteSar smiled from underneath his mask. He rushed at the oil lamp and his technician. Zubaidah held Djinn foward to fire several bullet-like puffs of smoke at WhiteStar, but he dodged each of them with ease.

WhiteStar jumped into the air, bringing his sword down on the meister. She hopped out of the way, then was quickly on the offensive, doing agile kicks and sweeps- which were all either countered or dodged by WhiteStar.

WhiteStar caught her foot on one quick and pushed her foot forward, sending her entire body flying backwards. She fell onto her back with a grunt of surprise.

"Ha! I was expecting more from a Death Scythe!" laughed WhiteStar.

"Shall we, Djinn?" whispered Zubaidah.

"Let's." he confirmed.

"SOUL RESONANCE!" they both cried, flashing blue. Soon, a fire burst from the oil lamp, and out rose a gargantuan, muscled, lizard-like humanoid.

WhiteStar licked his blade, "Now we're talking..."

Djinn thrust his arm downwards. WhiteStar's eyes widened as he realized he didn't have time to dodge it. Djinn knocked the head of the StarClan into the village square. The genie-like weapon then raised his hands towards the evil ninja, blasting searing flames.

WhiteStar ran and jumped all across the village, never taking his eyes off of the duo firing at him. They must have had a weakness.

That's when WhiteStar noticed it. The woman looked exhausted. It must have taken her a great deal of effort to pull off that resonance. WhiteStar grinned, "No more holding back!"

He hurled his short blade with all his might, and Djinn watched with horror as it zipped under him and hit his partner square in the forehead. The oil lamp fell from her hands as she went limp, but WhiteStar was soon upon the Death Scythe, grabbing his blade from Zubaidah's head and slicing Djinn in two before the lamp even hit the ground.

They both exploded, leaving behind nothing but their souls. Powerful souls at that. WhiteStar drooled as he yanked them both out of the air and shoved both into his mouth, gnashing and messily consuming them before at last swallowing.

"Tasty." he said with a smile, licking lips.

* * *

><p>Sid paced around, staring at GoldStar. The lanky ninja laughed like a madman, his elongated tongue slipping out of his mouth. He licked his own weapon, a katana with a blade so twisted, curved, and long it was almost like a representation of his own body. Both had fought for awhile, but only had a few cuts and bruises to show for it.<p>

"I'll eat bothhh your ssssoulsss..."

"Just try!" Sid grunted, lashing out with Nygus. GoldStar quickly blocked with his own sword, and the DWMA's greatest stealth ops agent and the Star Clan's most twisted ninja pushed against eachother, locked in mortal combat.

GoldStar laughed in Sid's face, kicking him away. Sid quickly flipped back to his feet and rushed back, Nygus reared back.

GoldStar jumped over Sid's slash, but Sid shoved his foot in front of him and caught himself, then used the moment to jump into the air with GoldStar. GoldStar grunted in surprise as Sid planted his boot firmly into his chest. GoldStar was sent flying to a spike on one of the hut's roofs.

"We got him!" Sid told Nygus.

Just before GoldStar was impaled, he caught the tip of the spike and completely stopped his momentum, and unnaturally contorted his body so he was standing atop the spike. He laughed uncontrollably, "Thhhhat all...?"

Sid raised his partner once again, but their attention was soon brought to the screams of BlackStar. GoldStar's head snapped over to where the villagers were beating him senseless. The ninja cursed, "Damn. We'll finissshhh thhhisss anothhher time..."

GoldStar hopped towards where BlackStar was being beat up. Sid grunted and began chase, "Get back here!"

"Think you losers can take ME?! The amazing God, BlackStar? Have a little taste of my SpeedStar!"

Those words of bravado were soon reduced to nothing as his cocky recklessness made him not notice and slip in a mud puddle. The villagers soon were upon the little ninja, beating him to a pulp.

BlackStar had thought his time was up, but with the flashing of a blade and gushing of blood, the villagers were lying dead, their souls soon floating into the air.

"Alirghhhht, boy?" GoldStar asked him, his katana dripping with fresh blood.

"I-I'm fine..." stuttered the beaten and bloody BlackStar, struggling to his feet.

Sid rushed to them, his knife raised. But before Gold or Black could make their moves, a flash of White rushed in and struck Sid directly in his chest, sending him flying into a nearby building and burying him in rubble.

WhiteStar glared at his son with angry, disappointed eyes. Sid was watching the events unfold through the pile of rubble, knowing that he should probably play dead, not being able to take both of the StarClan's in a fight.

"D-dad.."

To Sid's shock, White Star responded to his son's pleas by kicking him back.

"Loser." spat the evil ninja, "-you were supposed to surpass God. Yet, you lost to a bunch of untrained farmers.. You're no son of mine. You know the clan rules- either return in victory, or don't return at all."

"Please..."

"WhhiteSssstar, he's jussst a kid..." GoldStar pleaded.

"HE'S BROUGHT DISHONOR ON OUR CLAN! You're lucky I don't slit your throat for bailing him out!"

"No... I was... was... supposed to surpass God..." he sobbed as the two older ninjas left him in the mud.

Seeing the coast was clear, Sid pushed the rubble off of himself and walked up to the abondened child. Sid gently placed his hand on the child's shoulder,"Hey, kid."

The blue-haired child didn't respond. He simply just lied there on his knees, staring blankly at the dent in the forest where his father and GoldStar had left, abandoning him.

BlackStar drew his short sword without warning, causing Sid and Naigus to defensively jump back, prepared for the child to lunge at them.

"I'd rather die than live the rest of my life in shame..." the saturnine child announced, lifting his sword into the air.

"No! Don't do it!" cried Nygus as she and her partner ran towards BlackStar. But they were a moment too late. He plunged his sword into his stomach, committing ritual suicide.

"Damn! He's losing blood fast!" swore Sid, bending down to examine the child.

"Quick, we need to treat his wounds and get to the nearest mirror. Lord Death can use his powers to let us enter the Death Room from there. We need to get this kid the best help available, ASAP."

"Right." agreed Sid, gently lifting the child up.

_'What kind of sicko would teach a little kid to commit suicide after a defeat...?'_ was the only thought that crossed Sid and his partner's minds. They could only hope the kid would find a better home at the academy than that sick, twisted tribe of demons.

* * *

><p><strong>Okey dokey folks, level with me for a second here.<strong>

**If you've seen the Soul Eater anime, then you've seen the picture of the StarClan. Look it up- just google 'Soul Eater Star Clan' and it should be the first image to pop up.**

**Yes, they're all going to be characters. GoldStar is the character's name and personality I invented, who's to WhiteStar's left in said picture.**

**The three other important clansman will be the girl sitting down, and the two guys covering their mouths with kanji embroidered bandanas. The other two dudes in capes who look alike will be StarClan grunts.**

* * *

><p><strong>Reviewer<strong>** response time!**

**TCatX3- I don't really see how preforming a resonance with your lover and her sister at the same time would be awkward. It's an attack, not sex. And, I dunno. It doesn't really seem impossible that Blair would settle down with a single guy, but she'd probably still be flirty.**

**Unflinching Resolve- Thanks. Wes is a badass, so I tried to do him some justice.**

**Tris PhantomEvans- Death and Marie's resonance was actually a shoutout to the intro of episode 1 of the anime, where a giant skull bites a kishin in half while the narrator is explaining how Death helps keep them in line. And I usually do reread my chapters, I have no idea how I missed the lightning thing. If anyone would be a beta for this story, I would appreciate it.**

**Tris PhantomEvans- Meh, the bulleyes was from point-blank range. While wanting to make Wes seem like a badass, I didn't wanna make him seem like a gary stu. He's just a laid back rich kid with a cool head, not a gangster. I guess he's shot guns before, though.**


	9. Farwell and Welcome Back

**This chapter takes place several years after the last.**

* * *

><p>"You know, it's real risky for your dad to be doing this. Arachnophobia usually targets anyone who publicly speaks out against them."<p>

"I know. That's how my mom died." Wes responded to his weapon and bodyguard, Liz. Turning a corner in his red sportscar, he went on, "-but I can't do anything to stop him. He's willing to put himself at risk to speak out against the people who killed his wife, and you gotta respect that."

"I think it's pretty cool!" said Patty from the back seat.

"Thank you, Patty. Liz, try to take a page from your sister's book and be a little more positive."

Liz stuck her tongue out at Wes. He laughed back at her.

"-and anyway, dad hired a buncha security." said Soul, who was in the back with Patty.

Wes pulled up to the auditorium. The parking lot was practically full.

"Tickets and I.D., please." asked a security guard.

"I think these should cover both, my good man." responded Wes. All four occupants of the car pulled out their V.I.P. passes.

"Oh, you're Mr. Evans' sons and their bodyguards. Come on in."

Wes parked near the front.

"Why aren't you guys playin'?" asked Patty.

"Dad said he doesn't want to put us at risk." answered Soul as Wes parked them into a V.I.P. Space. Soul tucked his hands into his pockets and groaned loudly, "-besides, who' wanna hear my crappy piano playing?"

"Don't belittle yourself like that, Soul. You're a very good musician."

"Dad doesn't think so."

Wes looked towards Soul, "Soul, I know dad's hard on you, but trust me. Even if you're not as good as me, you're still pretty damn good. Besides, dad's really comparing apples to oranges. How could I be better at playing violin than you can play the piano?"

"He means a musician in general." Soul countered.

"Soul, I think you're just as good as I am- if not, better." Wes offered his little brother with a reassuring pat on the back.

"Yeah, Soul! I think you're really good at piano, too." Patty giggled.

"Me three." Liz agreed.

Soul grinned cockily. He held up his arm, "He he... well, a few nights ago, I just discovered a new... 'talent' I have."

"Oooo! What is it!? Please, tell us Soul!" begged Patty.

Soul chuckled, "Sorry, but I'm saving it until after the concert. Then I'll show all of ya and dad. C'mon, let's go take our seats.

* * *

><p>"...and here's the main event, people. The sponsor of this little concert… Mr. Victor Evans!"<p>

Victor Evans walked on stage, his saxophone in one hand, the other raised and waving to the cheering crowd. Wes, Soul, and the Thompson Sisters sat in the front row VIP seats.

"This one is for my dear, departed wife, who died in an Arachnophobia bombing more than 10 years ago. Thanks to you guys and your donations, we can help those brave meisters take down Arachnophobia even sooner. Now, let's get started, shall we?"

The father of the Evans brothers played with a dark, beautiful passion. Wes smiled, proud to be part of such a talented family of musicians. But that feeling soon faded into blood-curdling fear.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a dribble of red leak out from under the curtains- right where a guard was stationed.

"Is that… blood?"

Then, like a deadly phantom, a man dressed in Arachnophobia garb ripped through the curtains and burst forth, a large, bloody knife raised. Mr. Evans didn't even have time to turn around before he was stabbed in the back, and the weapon burst from his chest in a gush of red.

"Take note, you miserable pissants!" screamed the assassin into the nearby mic as he yanked the blade from the musician's chest. Most of the crowd was trampling over itself in an attempt to flee.

"This is what happens to fools who dare stand against the Lady Arachne!" screamed the assassin.

Three guards rushed up to the front of the stage, pulling out their handguns. The Arachnophobia assassin threw a smoke bomb to the ground, masking his form. The guards continued to fire, but after the smoke cleared the killer had vanished without a trace.

* * *

><p>"Those are lilacs, right?"<p>

"Yeah. They were mom's favorite."

Sadness shone in both of the Evans brother's eyes as Wes placed the flowers atop his father's grave. Wes looked over to his weapon partner's, who were waiting nearby the entrance to the grave. They to were dressed in black to morn the loss of his father.

"T-they're all gone, Wes... Mom... Dad...Granny..." Soul said solemnly.

"We're the last of the Evans line." Wes said, his voice steady and saturnine.

Soul's eyes teared up. With a bright flash, his arm turned into a large scythe blade.

"H-hey. Check it out. I'm a weapon. P-pretty c-cool, huh...? I-I was going to show dad and you after the concert... but... but..."

"Damnit, Soul... don't cry..." Wes grunted.

The brother's embraced. Soul sobbed into his brother's shoulder, his scythe arm wrapped around his back. Soul fell to his knees, dragging Wes down with him. Wes gently cradled the back of his brother's head, using the other hand to pat Soul's back. The brother's tears stained the ground.

"We're going to make them all pay, Soul... every last one of them..." Wes sobbed bitterly. That was no pipe dream. His brother was a weapon. He was a meister with two partners.

He'd have to put the mourning on hold and plan their trip to Death City.

* * *

><p>Stein found himself in a seemingly endless white abyss- every which way, there were long, vertical stiches that ran in random zig-zags, only to end in an arrow.<p>

"This is... odd." he told himself, giving the bolt on his head a twist to gather his thoughts. Was he dreaming? If he was, it was the most realistic lucid dream he'd ever undergone.

"Stein."

A woman was standing behind him.

"You're... Medusa." Stein said, twisting the bolt on his head once again, "-but you're supposed to be dead. I heard the guards talking about how Lord Death himself killed you."

"Oh, I'm very much alive. And I'm ready to put my grand plan into action."

"Gran plan? Sounds fascinating."

"Oh, it is. And I want you to help make it happen."

Stein chuckled at the suggestion, "And why would I want to help you?"

Medusa approached him, now too close for comfort. Franken was unsure what to do. She placed her hand upon his chest, "I know all about you, Stein. I've had my I on you ever since a friend of mine told me about you. I've read up on your psychoanalysis files. You want to live in a world without gods... without being limited by that damned Shinigami and his flimsy mask of lies he calls morality."

"...and what if I do?"

Her lips slowly met his. She pulled away and whispered into his ear, "-then we'll create a world like that, just you and I..."

Stein slowly felt his vision go blurry. He attempted to grab Medusa, but failed- due to the fact she vanished into a cloud of black sand. Franken felt his legs turn to jelly as he fell backwards. When his head hit the ground below, his eyes snapped open once again.

He was still in his cell. It had all been a dream.

An odd, twisted one at that. He'd barely even thought of Medusa... much less think romantically of her.

There was knocking at his cell door as the guard slipped a few articles of clothing through a slot on the door, "C'mon, stitches. It's the big day. Your girlfriend brought these for ya."

Stein walked over and lifted the objects up- and allowed a grin to spread across his face. A pair of black swear pants, matching sneakers, and a white t-shirt and hoodie. All covered up in stitches.

His girlfriend knew him to well.

* * *

><p>Stein took another inhale of his cigarette, blowing smoke out of his nostrils.<p>

"God, it's been too long since I've had a smoke." Stein said with a smile.

Marie laughed, snuggling up to his arm. They continued to stroll down the sidewalk.

"Let's get home, Franken." she sighed happily.

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, we'll be starting the main plot next chapter! I'm still looking for a beta to check for grammar, so if you're interested, that'd be fantastic.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Review Response<strong>

**TCatX3- Well, that seems like a fair assessment. And I still haven't decided who to pair Wes with yet. **

**UnflinchingResolve- WhiteStar's whole morality is 'winning is good, losing is bad'. So, losing to a bunch of average joe, country bumpkins with sticks would be one of the worst things you could possibly do in his eyes. **


	10. Crona's 1st Day Pt1

It was Crona's first summer (at least, the first one she didn't spend indoors) when she and her new friends and family celebrated Death the Kid's 6th birthday. She remember that particular day vividly- the warm kiss of the sun. The way the chocolate cake tickled her taste buds. The smiles of all of her friends.

The odd thing about it was Crona didn't know her birthday, so Kid insisted that they share a party and officially make their birthdays the same. Ragnarok insisted since that he was part of Crona, he should have the same birthday as well- Kid suspected this was because Ragnarok's true birthday was later in the year than his, but he didn't really mind. Kid also suspected that Crona might be a year or two older than him, but he figured that didn't really matter. He acted and talked well above his age anyway, due to his Shinigami genes.

Since it was summer, the Shibusen was empty of students, all weapons and meisters who lived in the door rooms staying with their families for the break, leaving only the staff, who all attended, but didn't necessarily bring presents, as Death and his scythes were really the only ones who knew the kids well enough to bring them gifts they would accept, as Crona was ridiculously timid and Kid was OCD as hell.

Kid's party was free of streamers, as he thought them an unorganized mess of colors. Tzeca learned that the hardway when he brought some to Kid's third birthday.

The party was being held outside the Shibusen, just at the top of the stairway. Their were two long tables set up- one holding all of the presents, and the other was fitted with chairs so everyone could have a place to sit down and eat.

Death was sitting with Kami and Spirit. They had just ate the cake- and everybody got a perfectly cut slice, courtesy of the birthday boy himself.

"Oh kids~ it's time to unwrap some presents." Crona fondly remembered the Grim Reaper announcing while she was playing with Kid and Maka.

Kid received several toys- and all of them perfectly symmetrical. He also received a few new books. From his Father, he received a cloak and mask like what Death claimed he was making with Excalibur- his would be magic, however, so it would take a while. Kid loved it, as he respected his father more than he obsessed over symmetry, and quickly tossed both the cloak and mask on, only to remove the mask and continue to unwrapping his gifts.

Ragnarok received the hottest game console on the market, as well as several games for it. He also received a gory movie from Tzeca, who was swiftly Shinigami-chopped with extreme prejudice and reminded that Crona would have to see it if Ragnarok were to watch it.

Crona got several dresses and stuffed animals for the bulk of her gifts, but a few things stuck out for her. Like Kid, she also received a cloak and mask- she figured it would nice to wear is she was ever embarrassed and wanted to hide her face. Marie had sewn her own doll, and Crona loved the effort that the tonfa had put into it. Finally, from both Maka and her parents, she received a story book. She still didn't know how to write or read very well, so Maka promised she'd help her out next time she came over to play.

"Here, Crona. I saw this when I went shopping for a gift for you, and it I thought it fit you so well." she remembered Kid saying as he took an object out of his pocket, a blush on his cheeks.

It was a necklace- a black heart attached to a silver chain. He gingerly reached around her neck and hooked it together.

"Thank you, Kid." she said with a blush ten times as radiant.

"Yoooourrrr'e wwwweeeelcome, Crrrrooona." Kid slurred.

Crona's eyes darted up. Kid's face was no longer his own, but it had been replaced by... his.

The Black Clown's head sat atop Kid's shoulders. She cried out in terror as Ragnarok exploded from her back, rending her flesh from bone. He wrapped his slender frame around Crona, keeping her locked in place.

Her friends began laughing as the world began melting into a black, oily substance. Death's face burned off in a black fire, replaced by a bloody skull. Her friends laughter at her predicament turned hysterical. They grabbed their stomachs and struggled to stay on their feet as tears rolled down their eyes. Crona squirmed about, hyperventilating. This was happening to everyone- Maka and her parents, Mifune, BJ, the Death Scythes, their partners...

She fell backwards onto the ground, beginning to sink into the dark substance. Death quickly stomped over and violently wanked her up, shoving her towards his son, Death the Kid.

The Clown that stole Kid's body licked it's white lips, spittle flying off and hitting her face. Tears dripped from her eyes as the academy slumped over as if it were a deflated bouncy castle. The sky was an odd shade of cosmic purple, and the happy sun had been replaced by a violent, red moon, the same black fluid the world around her was melting into dripping down from between his teeth and off his chin.

"No! Please!" she cried. The Clown responded with a shrill cackle, tossing back his head and twisting around his body in ways that snapped Kid's bones with sickening crunches.

The mad smiles of her friend's soon became her mother's sadistic grin.

The Clown leaned over her neck, gently sniffing her collarbone.

"...I really like you, Crona." he whispered into her ear before giving it a lick with his long, disgusting tongue, "-in fact, you look good enough to eat..."

He opened his mouth wider than possible, placing his mouth over her entire head, and with one hard bite, decapitated her.

Crona woke from her horrid nightmare with a loud scream. She was shivering and matted with sweat, but was relived to find that the horrible experience she had just underwent was only a bad dream. Well, most of it, anyway.

She reached over to the side, grabbing the necklace she received from Kid on her 6th birthday. She had to have the chain refitted, but the jewelry itself remained the same.

As she put it around her slender neck, Ragnarok emerged from her back. Acording to Medusa's orignal designs, Ragnarok was supposed to eat innocent human souls, and he would grow larger and more muscular as a result. Kishin eggs seemed to breed a similar result, as he had eaten several corrupted souls from personal missions with Kid, Ragnarok had grown in size since he and Crona's childhood, although he was still slender.

He let out a loud yawn, allowing his tongue to roll out of his mouth. He looked down towards Crona, "What's the problem, Crona? Did ya wet the bed again?"

"I stopped doing that a long time ago, Ragnarok! I just had a nightmare!" Crona refuted, a large blush spreading across her cheeks. She checked her room once more, just in case she was still dreaming- it was nearly the same since she was child, but her bed was larger, she had her own bathroom, and Ragnarok added several gaming systems and a larger television.

And of course, it wasn't her old room at all- she had moved in with Kid to the Gallow's Manor after their father had ordered it's construction for Kid's 10th birthday.

Someone knocked at her door approximately 8 times in rapid succession and called from the other side, "Crona? Are you awake?"

"Yes, Kid. Give me a minute to get ready." she responded.

"Alright, I'll get breakfast ready while you're getting ready. Don't be late; it's our first day at the academy!"

Crona removed herself from bed, slipping off her pj's and taking a quick shower. After drying off, she changed into her usual attire- it was a black dress, with the Shibusen's trademark skull ornament pinned on as a brooch.

She exited her room, walking down the stairs and into the perfectly symmetrical kitchen, where several plates of breakfast where set up. Kid was busy making sure the candles were all burned down to the same height.

"Hello, Crona. Here, I made you and Ragnarok some breakfast..." he said, checking the final candle.

"Thanks, Kid." Crona said, sitting down and beginning her breakfast. Ragnarok burst from her back, grabbing a plate and swallowing everything on it whole before setting the plate back down and disappearing as quickly as he appeared.

"So... are you excited for school, Crona?" asked Kid as he was satisfied with the results of his candle's heights. He sat down and began his own breakfast.

"Y-yes. I hope Maka's coming." Crona told Kid.

Kid chuckled, "Of course she is. All she ever talks about is how much she wants to be a Scythe Meister..."

Crona gulped down a small bite of her eggs and looked up towards Kid with sad eyes, "What if everyone hates me...?"

Kid cast a serious glance towards her, "Crona, you're a sweet girl. You'll make lots of friends, trust me. And like promised you all those years ago... if anyone ever tried to hurt you..."

"We'll kill their asses!" Ragnarok cried in excitement.

"...er, yes. I suppose." Kid agreed.

* * *

><p>"Ah, what a glorious morning! Crona, Ragnarok, would you just take a look at the sky?! The clouds are aligned perfectly on either side of the sun! Absolutely invigorating! A perfect way to begin the next chapter in our lives!"<p>

Kid flied through the sky on his flying skateboard, the Beelzebub. Crona clung to his back. She was a least a head taller than him, so she got a good view of the ground below. She had been afraid of flying at first, but she had found it rather fun after she had gotten used to it.

"Whatever." replied Ragnarok, "-I'm just going to sleep the whole time anyway. There's a reason I dropped outta highschool back when I was human."

They had finally reached the academy. Kid landed his Beelzebub, allowing Crona to step off before he kicked it up and it turned into purple energy before returning into his palm.

Many returning students and newcomers began gaping at them.

"Isn't that Lord Death's son?!"

"Is that a boy or a girl with him?"

"I've heard that dude with pink hair was adopted by Lord Death..."

A deep blush spread across Crona's face as the students around them began gossiping.

"Don't worry, Crona, let's just go sign in." Kid tried to comfort her, gingerly taking her by the hand.

"HEY! OUTTA THE WAY, JERKS!" demanded Ragnarok as he burst from Crona's back, causing the students to scream in terror and scatter.

Kid and Crona walked into the Shibusen's interior, where many weapons and meisters were looking for their new partners or talking with them, while returning students hung around and chatted about their summer.

Death's children eventually came up to Marie, who, along with other faculty members, was taking record of the new student's partners this year- or lack thereof.

"Oh! Kid and Crona. So, you guys are partners?" Marie said with a bright smile.

"That's right." Kid confirmed.

"Let's see here... Death the Kid... and... Crona Gorgon. Actually, hold on a sec. Crona, would you like a stage name?"

"What? Like a wrestler?" asked a confused Ragnarok as only his head emerged from Crona's back.

"Sort of. You can make your own nickname, and instead of referring to you by your last name, teacher's will use that. Crona might want to do that, because the 'Gorgon' name isn't to well-liked around here, if you catch my drift."

"I think that's a marvelous idea, Marie. Crona, do you have any ideas?"

She thought for a moment before gently touching the ornament around her neck. She looked back up, "Black Heart."

Marie smiled, "Alright! From this moment forth, you, Crona 'Black Heart', are now Death the Kid's weapon partner. Congrats! And I'll just go ahead and assume you two signed up for the EAT class- NOT would be a waste of your talents."

"What's our homeroom, Marie?" asked Kid.

Marie looked up, "That would be Mrs. Kami Albarn's, Crescent Moon."

"Thanks Marie. C'mon, Crona." Kid said as he folded his hands behind his back and walked towards Kami's room.

"Hold on a sec, Crona." Marie blurted as Crona was about to set off after Kid.

"W-what is it, Marie...?" the pinkette nervously asked in response.

"Kid's a real catch... snatch him up before anyone else takes him!" Marie encouraged.

"G-g-goodbye!" stuttered Crona before rushing off.

* * *

><p>Tsubaki could hardly believe it! She had arrived late to the first day of school. Now, she was scrambling to find a partner. Nearly everyone had already selected their partner, however. She combed the entire school, looking for her new partner. She even came up to the top of the school in desperation.<p>

That's when she found a blue-haired boy, a few years younger than herself, standing atop one of the giant spikes jutting out of the Shibusen.

"What are you doing out here?" Tsubaki asked the strange boy in black.

He turned to face her, and she gasped a bit in surprise. His muscular arms were covered in scars, as was his face. Well, the part of his face he had exposed; his mouth and chin were masked by his vest's large collar.

But his most prominent feature was his eyes- two black, angry orbs with stars for pupils.

"What does it matter to you?" he practically spat, looking down at the tag on her chest that read 'weapon.'

"Well... aren't you meister or a weapon? Shouldn't you being to trying to find a partner?" Tsubaki asked curiously, seeing no tag on the boy.

"Hmph." he grunted in response, turning back towards the crowd in front of the Shibusen.

"...you know, you sort of remind me of my brother." Tsubaki said with a giggle.

"What?" Black Star grunted.

Tsubaki shrugged, "He was really angry and antisocial because he was jealous he didn't get to become a dark arm weapon like me. But he met this nice girl, and now he's engaged. He's actually a pretty cheery guy now."

Black Star shook his head in annoyance and looked towards the weapons and meisters below once again, "What idiots. All of 'em."

"Come again?"

"They're all huge idiots. Weapons. Meisters. All of you ass-kissers working for that stupid floating blanket, Death. What's the point?"

"What's the point...? To protect innocent people from evil! What else?"

"And why should anyone give a damn about others...?"

Tsubaki shook her head in disgust, "You- you're repulsive!"

He chuckled at her insult. Still facing the crowd, he began to lament, "I was suppose to surpass God, you know. But look at me now. I'm nothing. Some loser stuck in a shithole town."

"Goodbye." Tsubaki huffed, turning away and marching off.

"Aren't you suppose to be finding a weapon, BlackStar?"

"Shouldn't you be handing out candy to little kids from a big, white van?"

Mifune ignored BlackStar's snide remark and walked forward, "What are standing on that spike for? Planning to punch your own ticket?"

"No. I still need to kill that bastard."

"You're walking the path of a demon, BlackStar. It's clear in your eyes. You're just like the man you've sworn to kill- just like your father. Keep going down this path of hate and selfishness, and I'll have to end you."

"Bite me." spat BlackStar in return.

BlackStar paced off, and Mifune sighed in annoyance. That kid was a handful.

* * *

><p>The young ninja went back into the Shibusen, boiling with rage.<p>

'_Screw this whole shitty school! I'm packing my bags and getting the Hell outta here!'_

"Please, hold on." a soft feminine voice asked him.

It was the same girl that he had met on the roof. He narrowed his brow at the girl, "What the Hell do you want?"

"Your father... you want to kill him?" Tsubaki asked timidly.

"Yeah, I do."

"Why...?"

"When I was just a little kid, he brought me to a village to eat my first human soul. I got cocky and slipped up when I was fighting a few villagers, and they beat the living shit outta me. He didn't like that, and kicked me out of the clan."

"That's- that's terrible. I'm so sorry to hear that."

"I don't need your pity."

"Let me help you."

"Huh?"

"I want to help you get your revenge..."

"I think that's a great idea." said a familiar voice, entering their conversation.

Mifune entered the seen, chewing on a reed, as he usually did.

BlackStar sneered, "Why should I?"

Mifune glared down at BlackStar, "Either partner up with this young lady, or be expelled. And you already walk the path of the demon, BlackStar. The moment you're no longer a student of the Shibusen..."

Mifune placed his hand on his katana, "...I'll take care of you."

BlackStar grunted in disdain, "Fine. I'll partner up with her. That doesn't mean I'll like it."

* * *

><p>"Remember when we first looked into this class, and Kami beat the stuffing out of those two punks?" Kid asked Crona as they entered the classroom.<p>

"Y-yeah." Crona responded, still abit shaken at what Marie had suggested.

"Kid! Crona!"

Kid and Crona looked to the stairs up to the seats and saw Maka with some bored-looking boy with white hair and red eyes.

"Hi, Maka. Is this your new partner?" asked Kid.

"Yup." replied Maka.

Death the Kid smiled at the weapon and stuck out his hand, "My name's Kid, I'm Lord Death's son and Maka's friend. It's nice to meet you."

Soul stared blankly for a moment at Kid's hand. He looked like he had a bit of trouble lifting his own hand up before finally grabbing Kid's hand, and then switching his demeanor by flashing a wide, shark-toothed grin.

"-and I'm Soul. Soul Eater."

Soul turned to Crona, offering his hand to her. She gulped, not knowing how to deal with a boy with such sharp teeth.

"Shy, huh?" asked Soul.

She nodded. Soul looked at her with a look of understanding, "It's cool. Meeting new people can be difficult, I get it. So just nevermind my shark teeth, I won't bite ya."

Crona smiled a bit and shook his hand.

Crona and Kid sat down next to Soul and Maka, and they all started waiting for the teacher.

A few more students came in after that. A serious-looking boy in 80's sunglasses with a single red lens, walking with a pink-haired girl in tanooki-styled clothing. There was also a semi-bald guy who also wore odd glasses accompanying a black-haired girl. Finally, an African American teen in the company of two small twins.

"This is horse. Where the Hell's the teacher?"

Crona practically jumped from her skin when BlackStar appeared behind her, reclining in his seat.

"WAHH!" Crona cried, gripping onto the arms of Kid and Maka, ducking back in shock.

"Don't be such a pussy." BlackStar mocked, "-and speaking of pussies, you look even more like a girl than last time I had the displeasure of seeing you."

Soul glared at the boy. He turned to Kid, "Who's this asshole?"

BlackStar raised his eyebrow at Soul, _'I'll have to kick in his dumbass shark-teeth later.'_

"BlackStar. He got kicked out of his clan, and now he takes out all his insecurity on those around him like the coward he is." Kid explained in disdain. BlackStar had bullied Crona ever since Sid had brought him back to the academy, so the two weren't exactly on the best terms.

"The _fuck _did you just say to me?" BlackStar growled at the Shinigami.

"I said you were a coward. Unless picking on those weaker than you makes you brave. But you're such a backwards ass moron, I wouldn't put it past you for thinking that." Kid responded, hatred flaring up in his eyes.

"I'm going to gut you, daddy's boy..." BlackStar threatened.

"At least my father kept me around!" Kid countered.

BlackStar roared and thrust his fist forward, but Kid moved his head out of the way. Ragnarok burst from Crona's back, "C'mon, Stripes! Let's kick this spiky-headed prick's ass to the moon!"

"Uh... what the hell's that thing?" Soul gaped at the strange creature that burst from Crona's back.

"Whoa! Look at the weird alien!" Patty laughed, pointing her finger towards Ragnarok.

"Hey! I wanna go home, but I ain't no alien, dummy!" Ragnarok yelled back at Patty.

"Learn some manners, freak. No one speaks to my partners that way." Wes growled at Ragnarok.

"Eat shit!" Ragnarok spat at Wes.

Wes approached Ragnarok, rolling up one of his sleeves. Kid, who was ready to engage in a bloody brawl with BlackStar, saw Wes approaching Crona from the corner of his eye. Due to the heat of the moment and his protectiveness of Crona, he dashed in front of Wes, glaring up at the older boy.

"Back off!" Kid commanded Wes.

"Your fights with me, prick!" BlackStar spat at Kid.

"Nothing like starting a new school year with a bloody brawl, eh kids?" Kami laughed, entering the room.

"I don't have any problem with fighting- as long as I'm supervising it. You all can rip each other's arms off after I'm through taking role." Kami sighed, picking up her attendance sheet.

"Whoa, your mom's pretty cool, Maka." Soul whispered to his new partner.

"Thanks. She's the whole reason I decided to become a meister." Maka whispered back.

"Alrighty, kids, my name is Mrs. Kami Albarn, but you can just call me Mrs. Kami. In case you didn't know, I'm the academies' second strongest meister and my husband and weapon partner is the Death Scythe, Spirit Albarn. Any questions?"

No one raised their hands. Kami began taking role. Some of the more interesting pairs of meister and weapon Kid saw were Kilik and his weapons, Thunder and Fire- due to their symmetry and the fact that the twins were so young. There was also a witch named Kim, who's weapon was a spear named Harvar. Kid found that odd, considering that witches and the Shibusen had a tense relationship, and their weren't many witches who ever went to the academy. And finally, solely due to his odd hair, was Ox and his lamp weapon, Jackie. The most shocking that Kid found was a Dark Arm weapon named Tsubaki- who was partners with BlackStar. Kid's soul perception let him see her soul was calm, and her personality sweet... so what was she doing with that jerk?

Speaking of which, during the entire role, BlackStar's eyes bore into Kid's frame with bloody hatred.

* * *

><p>"...alright, that'll about do it. So, how about we take this little brawl outside?" Kami said with a smirk.<p>

The student's of the Crescent Moon were crowded in the fighting grounds at the Shibusen. Kid and Crona stood at one end of the crowd, while BlackStar and Tsubaki stood in the opposite corner.

"Kid and Crona, right? Sorry for that little indecent back there." said Wes, patting them both on the back.

"Oh yes, Ragnarok can be a bit of a pain. No hard feelings." Kid responded with a smile.

"I resent that!" growled Ragnorak, emerging from Crona's back.

Soul walked up next to Kid, "Bullies are so uncool, Kid. Beat this guy's ass real good, ya hear?"

"I was planning to." Kid responded.

"Kid... you don't have to do this for me." Crona whimpered.

"Have some pride, Crona! We'll be fighting too! Aren't ya tired of being pushed around by that idiot?" Ragnarok asked, lightly bonking her on the head.

"Actually...Crona... stand back. I won't need you." Kid said, looking back at his demon twinblade.

Ragnarok tilted his head, confused, "Gopi?"

"Hold on, Mrs. Albarn."

"What is it, Kid?"

"It's quite obvious that this amateur has no clue how to operate his weapon. Do you mind if we fight hand to hand?" Kid asked.

"Fine with me..." BlackStar said.

"Knock yourselves out. No pun intended. Okay, let's get this show on the road! BEGIN!" Kami cried.

"Be careful, BlackStar..." Tsubaki asked her new technician.

Ignoring his weapon, BlackStar took a fighting stance and began shuffling towards Kid.

Kid looked at BlackStar's soul curiously. It was so swelled up with rage and hate, yet know... it seemed... controlled. Like it was bubbling under the surface, waiting to be unleashed.

On the physical plane, Kid noticed that BlackStar's breathing was under perfect control, and he made not one sound. In fact, he was completely immobile. All except for his eyes. They burned with demonic fury.

Then, with a sudden burst, BlackStar lunged forward, zipping along towards Kid.

Kid swung his leg at BlackStar, but the ninja ducked under the Shinigami's blow and ended up behind Kid. BlackStar thrust his fist towards Kid, but he managed to block it. BlackStar charged forward, he and Kid ending up locking hands and pushing each other.

"You're not half bad..."

"Hehe... I'm going make you cry to daddy!"

The ninja headbutted Kid, sending him reeling backwards. BlackStar then jumped forward, thrusting his elbow into Kid's ribs.

"BlackStar... Dark Wave." he practically whispered.

A burst of navy soul energy, tinted with black, exploded outward, sending Kid flying.

"KID!" cried Crona, barely able to watch.

Kid caught himself in midair, however, and landed on both feet.

"That's funny... that little comment you made about making my cry to daddy... I just find it terrible ironic, considering your father abandoned you."

"Shuddup..." growled BlackStar.

"Wah! I'm BlackStar, and my daddy doesn't want me because I'm a raging emo!" taunted Ragnarok from the sidelines.

The entire class began jeering at BlackStar, imitating Ragnarok.

"I think ya pissed him off..." Soul said to Ragnarok.

"That's kinda the point, Jaws." Ragnarok responded.

BlackStar's whole body turned red with a blush of embarrassment and rage. His eyes bore into Kid's very soul.

"BlackStar, don't do anything crazy!" Tsubaki called at him.

"SHUDDUP!" BlackStar shouted back at his weapon, causing her to flinch. He turned back towards Kid, "I'm gonna kill you... YOU, AND YOUR LITTLE TRANNY BOYFRIEND!"

Kid's golden eyes narrowed in anger, "You just had to drag her into this, didn't you...? You have no idea what she's been through... now, I'm going to beat you senseless. And I'll do it in 8 seconds."

Kami grumbled, "I might have to call off this fight before it gets to messy."

"Let him. BlackStar might learn a lesson from this."

Kami looked to her side, where Mifune stood, chewing on a reed. She nodded, "Well, if you think so, Mifune..."

"Ha! 8 seconds?! You'd never beat me in million years, what makes you think beat me in 8 seconds?!" BlackStar spat.

"8..." said Kid, shifting into the Stance of Sin.

BlackStar prepared to use another Dark Wave on Kid, but before he could even blink, Kid disappeared in a flash and just as quickly reappeared, squatting right next to BlackStar's legs.

"7..." declared Kid as he swept the young assassin's legs out from underneath him with his own.

"6..." cried Kid, spinning around and driving his foot into BlackStar's back. BlackStar cried in pain as blood flew from his mouth; the ex-StarClansman was launched upwards by the force of Kid's kick

"5..." Kid screamed while following up his attack, jumping up into the air and slamming both heels into BlackStar's head, sending him rocketing back towards Earth.

"4...!" loudly declared Kid as BlackStar flew back towards the ground, BlackStar screaming all the while.

"3...!" grunted Kid as BlackStar hit the ground with enough force to leave him imprinted into the dirt.

"2..." shouted Kid as he propelled himself downwards, his knees outstretched. He crashed into BlackStar's casing his head to shoot up. Kid reared his fist back and threw it forward, knocking BlackStar's lights out.

"1." announced Kid bluntly as he stood, wiping the dust from his coat.

"...and maybe now you'll think twice about challenging me." Kid said to BlackStar's unconscious body.

* * *

><p>BlackStar's eyes flitted open. Yet another defeat he faced. And now he was stuck in the infirmary, yet again.<p>

Those villagers, Mifune, Sid... he had lost so many times since he was kicked out of the clan... everytime he had the gall to challenge one of his superiors at the Shibusen, they quickly humiliated him.

'_Maybe I would be better off dead...' _he thought to himself, his hand subconsciously running over the large scar on his stomach.

"Oh... you're awake."

BlackStar saw Tsubaki hanging over him. He sighed. He could have made a snarky or snide remark. But instead, he simply asked, "Why... would you want to be my partner?"

"I already told you... you're like my brother. You just need someone to show you the bright side of things."

* * *

><p><strong>No, I don't hate BlackStar and want to turn him into a jerk. In this story, he'll be following the path of the demon from an early age, so that's why he's a huge dick. He'll get better, I swear.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Review Response:<strong>

**TCatX3- Whelp, we're here. At the DWMA. **

**NEKO8Kirona- I think I've made it painfully obvious that Medusa is still alive, if not I flat out said it on my Tumblr. And yes, Arachne will be playing a big part as a villain in this story. Medusa and Arachne... but neither of them will be the main villain.**


	11. Crona's 1st Day Pt2

After BlackStar and Kid's little scrap, the class of Crescent Moon returned to their seats to begin their first lesson; if the Meister's weapon is to be recognized a Death Scythe, it must have consumed 99 impure soul's and the soul of witch that has betrayed Lady Mabaa.

"Before Arachnophobia became a major power, the Shibusen fought witches. When Lord Death made the peace agreement with the witches to fight Arachnophobia, many of themdidn't like that and actually joined Arachnophobia... even so, the numbers of 'evil' witches have been falling every year. But we've found a way around this. You just have to find another 99 evil souls, and a witch will be able to convert them into an 'artificial' witch soul." she finished, turning back towards the class.

She rolled the chalk between her fingers, "Of course, there are a few... shortcuts. But they're all very rare, and can only be handled by high-level meisters and weapons. For example, certain people can have a 'demon soul'. This is the opposite of a warrior's 'strong soul'. While a strong soul is worth 99 pure souls, a demon's soul is worth 99 kishin eggs."

Lord Death's son rubbed his chin in thought, '_Hmph. BlackStar follows the Path of the Demon, doesn't he? I wonder why Mifune convinced my father to keep that bastard around... he's a Warrior himself. Warriors are supposed to wipe out demons... Does Mifune see some sort of greater potential in BlackStar?'_

Kid was snapped out of his thoughts when Kami continued, "...and then there's always a 'Sorcerer's Soul'. A Sorcerer is the equivalent of a male witch, and as such, their souls can be used to complete a Death Scythe. The catch is Sorcerers are both incredibly rare to come across AND incredibly powerful. Even if one did pop up, Lord Death would most likely send a high-level team such as myself or Mifune with a Death Scythe. So don't count on that. The number of evil witches has been shrinking every year, however, so if anyone in here expects to create or become a Death Scythe... expect to collect another 99 kishin eggs after the first batch.

"And I think that just about wraps up our first lesson."

If on cue, the bell rang, and the class began packing up their books and shuffling out of the class. Kid and Crona's new friends had to go down to the opposite end of the hall, so they were on their own.

"K-Kid, what's your next class?" asked Crona nervously.

Kid chuckled, "Don't worry, Crona. We have the same classes."

"B-but... I thought only upperclassman could have the same schedules as their partners..."

Kid shot her a smile, "That's one of the advantages to being Lord Death's son, my dear. And our next class is Excalibur's!" Kid said proudly, already memorizing his complete schedule. But his smiling face soon broke into a grimace upon realization of what he had just said.

* * *

><p>"Fools! I, Excalibur, shall teach you history. My history, to be exact. It's full exciting tales, no doubt, which you shall find extremely riveting. This is no surprise, as it is my class. Because of it being my class, you shall find yourself on the edge of your seats... now, for the first reverting tale, I shall tell you what we shall do in my exciting class..." Excalibur droned on. The explanation of what his class would be about seemed to both go in circles and drag on forever.<p>

Just as Kid, Crona, and about the other 95 percent of the class were about to rip their ears off, the bell rang.

"Fools!" shouted Excalibur, facing away from his class, "-alas, the bell has rang. But have no fear, you shall see me tomorrow."

"Now, if anyone would like to be my meister..." Excalibur began, turning back towards his class.

Everyone had left. Well, save for one student, who sat in his seat, clapping. He looked towards the Holy Sword with admiration shining in his bright, youthful eyes.

"What's your name, boy?" Excalibur asked the blond student, hopping off his podium and strolling up to said student.

"It's Hiro, I-" began the boy, but was swiftly interrupted by a cane shoved into his face.

"Fool! My meister must never answer rhetorical questions. Now, it's time to being the 1000 provisions necessary to wield me..."

* * *

><p>Crona shivered after at last escaping Excalibur's class. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of having to go back there again...<p>

"It's alright, Crona. I'm sure it'll get better." Kid encouraged the pinkette, giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"C'mon, let's get to gym before we're late." the young Shinigami went on as they walked the halls.

* * *

><p>In the boy's locker room, Kid was slightly hesitant in putting on the school's gym uniform- it <em>was <em>symmetrical... aside from the Shibusen's insignia being placed only on the _right_.

'_There's nothing disgusting about your father's image, Kid...'_ the Reaper thought to himself.

Kid slipped on the shirt, quickly releasing a breath of relief, '_I guess it won't be so bad if I don't think about it... just don't think about it... it's just like your hair...'_

Kid suddenly very nauseous. He fell to the ground, feeling as if he were about to puke, "I'm garbage..."

"Yo, Kid."

Kid looked up to see Soul standing above him. His white hair was held back by a black hairband, and he too wore the Shibusen's gym clothes.

"Hi, Soul." Kid greeted, sitting up. He rubbed his face as he had just woken up, trying to get the thoughts of his asymmetry out of his head.

Soul looked about, "Where's Crona? You guys are like two peas in a pod; but I don't see him anywhere..."

Kid lifted both hands, with both of his pointers outwards as if to emphasize his explanation, "Crona can't deal with changing in front of people, so I convinced the teacher to let her change in the nearest bathroom."

Soul raised his eyebrow, "Wait, Crona's a chick? But... you said that like she would be here if she wasn't so shy. So... what's Crona's gender...?"

Kid went on, "Crona identifies as a female."

Soul gave a light grumble in irritation, "Dude, quit dancing around the question. I identify as a man, so the 'answer' you just gave doesn't really answer squat. Is Crona a man, woman, transvestite, hermaphrodite...?"

Kid opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, a dark figure moved next to them.

"BlackStar." Kid greeted, venom in his voice. The Shinigami noted the bandages wrapped around his head, "What are you doing out of the school infirmary so soon?"

"I checked myself out." the ninja answered with a light chuckle.

Before any of them could go on, a whistle was blown at the front of the door. Enrique the Monkey clapped his hands, repeatedly blowing the whistle between his lips and repeatedly signaling the boys to exit the locker room with one of his feet.

BlackStar ground his teeth in irritation. He jammed his finger into Kid's chest, "We'll finish this later, pretty boy."

* * *

><p>The Death Sycthe Tezca and his meister Enrique were the gym leaders. Tezca wore a white t-shirt and ridiculously tight pair of shorts, complete with a headband on his bear mask. Enrique wore the same thing... well, aside from the bear mask. Both they and their students were outside the Shibusen, standing near a white line that ran 100 meters.<p>

"All right, listen up, boys and girls. I'm a pretty fun guy, but I know when it's time for business. That's why in this class, we'll be increasing and recording your physical prowess on Monday through Thursday, then taking the day off and havin' a grand ol' time playing with balls on Friday."

The students stared blanking at Tzeca. Enrique stared angrily up at his weapon, "Gaga gau!"

Tezca lifted his hands up in defense, "Whadda mean, that was a cheap joke?! I thought you understood comedy, Enrique. Classic aversion of expectation... anyway, we'll start our first day with the 100 meter dash. Now, since most everyone here has just started training, I don't think many of ya will be breaking the 10 second barrier. If ya do... you can color me impressed. I'll be waiting here at the finish line for you all, waiting to record your time."

Tezca walked over to the other end of the line and pulled out a stopwatch, pen, megaphone, and list of the students names.

Kid watched the first few students line up and begin running. He was standing with Crona, Wes, Soul, Maka, and the Thompson sisters, all dressed in their gym clothes.

"Hmph. I bet I can break the 10 second barrier!" Maka huffed, "My mom did it on her first try, so I'm going to do it like she did."

"I wouldn't constantly compare myself to family members, Maka." Wes advised.

"The Hell is that supposed to mean?" barked Soul.

"Nothing... nothing." Wes said defensively.

Tezca then called out through the megaphone,"Alright, Soul Eater, it's your turn!"

Soul flashed his shark teeth with a wide grin, "Cool."

The demon scythe took his place at the start of the line, ready to dash.

"3...2...1... go!" signaled Tezca through his megaphone, and Soul took off.

Soul ran past the Death Scythe, who clicked the stop watch.

"Hm... 10.75 seconds. Not bad, Soul Eater. Next is your brother... Wes Evans! It's your turn!"

Wes took his own spot at the beginning of the line, "Alright, let's do this..."

As soon as Tezca gave the signal, Wes rocketed down the line. As he rushed past Tzeca, the bear-helmeted weapon clicked his stopwatch and nodded in approval, "Nice! A clean 9.30 seconds. Congrats, Wes, you're the first student in this class that's broken the 10 second barrier."

Maka gaped, "H-how? I thought Wes was just a violinist..."

Liz smiled at Maka, "Yeah, well... he and and Soul did some training before we came here. Patty and I did too, actually."

"Patty Thompson, you're up!" called Tezca.

To everyone's shock, Patty received a solid 9.34. Liz got in at 10.23, Maka was the third to break the 10 second barrier with a time of 9.41. Crona ran as fast as she could, but still ended up with only a 12.34. There was only one student who hadn't ran yet left: Death the Kid.

"Alright, Death the Kid! Let's see how fast the Reaper's son is! I've been saving the best for last!" Tezca laughed in the megaphone, twirling his pen around.

"Alright... here I go..." Kid whispered to himself, "let's see if I can get a perfect 8 seconds..."

Kid dashed forward, shocking most students with his incredible speed. Whizzing by Tezca, the Death Scythe clicked the stop watch and gaped at the results.

"Holy hell... 7.93 seconds!? On his first try?! Heh... guess I shouldn't be surprised, he is a Shinigami..."

"What was my time, Tezca?" asked Kid hopefully.

Tezca patted his head, "Great work, Kiddo. You ran 100 meters in 7.93 seconds!"

Kid didn't respond. When Tezca looked over to him, he noted that Kid's face looked like he had just sucked a lemon.

"Er... you okay, Kid?"

"Tezca, I-er, can we try again? I was trying to get a perfect 8.00 seconds... it looks like 0.07 seconds off... urgh, I hate the number 7..."

"H-hey! What the heck?! You ain't trying again to get a _worse _score, Kid. That's insane. And I'm pretty sure it's out of my authority to give you a worse score on a retry."

Kid looked up with determination, "Then I'll have to go for a solid 6.00... it's the next best thing."

Tezca laughed, "Yeah, we'll be trying this again next week, Kiddo. For now, go hit the showers."

* * *

><p>Soul washed the sweat from his hair, sighing in depression. He had trained his brains out before he came to the DWMA... but his brother still beat him by almost 2 seconds. While that may not initially seem like a huge difference, in the 100 meter dash, it meant alot.<p>

His fears were coming to light. What if Wes was an even better meister than he was a weapon? It was bad enough Wes was better than him as a musician... would he become a greater Shibusen agent as well? What if he turned Liz AND Patty into Death Scythes before he could even become one? Wes just _had _to trump him in everything, didn't he?

"Soul? Are you alright?"

Soul looked over to see Kid, who was turning off the faucet, cutting off the flow of the warm water washing his body.

"Uh... yeah, fine, Kid."

"We're the last two in the showers, you know. Everyone else has already dried off by now."

Soul raised his brow, "Well, shit, Kid. You're still in the shower too and asking if I have a problem for not getting out sooner?"

"Well, I thoroughly clean every part of my body when I shower. You just kind of washed off and stood there for awhile, staring at the faucet."

Soul sighed, turning off his water as well, "Yeah... just some personal junk. Sorry for snapping at you like that."

Kid and Soul walked out of the showers together, wrapped in towels, "I understand. So, can I ask you what was bothering you?"

Soul gave a shark-toothed grin, "I'll tell ya, as soon as you tell me Crona's gender."

Kid nodded, and prepared to answer. But before he could, Wes snuck up behind Soul, delivering a wicked rattail to his behind.

"ARGH! WES, YOU JERK!" screamed Soul, pouncing on his laughing brother, ready to beat his ass. Kid shrugged and walked off. He had to get ready quick, or he'd be late for class.

* * *

><p>After drying off and getting dressed, Crona and Kid once again found themselves roaming the halls.<p>

"W-where do we go now, Kid?" Crona asked her partner.

"It's time for our lunch period. After that, we have our regular courses- science, math, ACTUAL history, those sorts of things."

Crona and Kid began making their way to the lunch room, but were intercepted by a certain ash-blond meister and her new weapon.

"'Sup, Kid, 'sup Crona?" asked Soul to the Shinigami and his adopted sister.

"Hello, Soul. Crona and I were just on our a way to lunch like you and Maka." Kid answered.

"Let's all sit by eachother, all right?" said Maka.

"I think that's a great idea."

At the lunch line, Kid, Crona, Soul, and Maka all arrived slightly before the second wave of students, putting them near the center.

"Kiiiid." whined Ragnarok, popping his head from Crona's back, "You're the Grim Reaper's son, ain't ya? Can't we just cut in line? I'm starving!"

Kid rolled his eyes, "No, Ragnarok, I'm not going to abuse my position like that just so you can stuff your face sooner."

"Hardass sunva bitch..." grumbled Ragnarok.

Kid released a huff of frustration, "Ragnarok, if you don't make a scene, I'll buy you seconds."

"Gopi! I knew you really care about me, buddy!" Ragnarok cheered.

"Buttering me up won't do you any good..."

"Jeez. Like I said, your ass is harder than stone. Well, later."

Soul watched Ragnarok sink into Crona's back with curiosity. After he vanished, he asked Crona, "So... what is Ragnarok anyway?"

"W-well, he's a part of me, I guess." Crona answered nervously, rubbing her arm.

"It's kind of a long story, Soul. We've told Maka; she can explain it." Kid replied, looking back at the white-haired weapon as they slightly advanced in line.

Kid turned his head forward once again while Maka explained Crona's backstory to her partner. Kid then spotted that witch girl he saw in his morning class. Kim Diehl. She was standing next to her weapon partner, Harvar D. Eclair.

"Excuse me..." began Kid, tapping the witch on her shoulder.

"Um... you're the Grim Reaper's son, right? Can we help you with something?"

"Oh, nothing in particular I want. I just wanted to know why a witch would want to be a student here. I mean, we do have witches under Shibusen employment, but a witch who's also meister is awfully rare."

She shrugged, "Well, I didn't fit in very well with the other witches."

"W-why not?" asked Crona.

Harvar answered for her, "She has regeneration magic- which means that she's very different from the other witches, who's magic is guided by the principle of destruction."

"So, how'd you two become partners, anyway?" asked Kid.

"When I was walking over to the school, I found a dog who had injured his paw. I looked around to make sure there was no one to see me healing him..."

"She didn't look well enough, because I saw her." Havar finished for his meister.

"...yeah. He convinced me to not hide the fact I was a witch. I mean, it's not like it's illegal, right? Someone would have to find out eventually, so hiding it wouldn't do any good.

Kid smiled, "Maybe you could work in the school infirmary when you're not on missions."

Kim looked surprised, "Really? Could you get me a job there?"

"Of course. Father told me there was another witch with healing powers that worked here as a doctor about fifty years ago; I'm sure he'd be happy to have another."

"That's soooo nice of you!"

"Don't mention it."

The witch and her weapon turned back to face the people in line in front of them. With the conversation ended, Kid picked out the food for himself and his weapon partners.

After waiting in line for a few minuets and paying for their meals, Kid perfectly balanced both his and Ragnarok's food on his arms, while Crona carried her own.

"Where should we sit, Kid...?"

Kid looked around abit, before spotting Wes and the Thompson Sisters who looked as if they had just sat down. He motioned his head towards the spot, "Let's go sit by Soul's brother over there."

The children of Death walked to take their seats, and were greeted by Wes and his handguns.

"Hey, Kid. Didn't take you to be a big eater..." Wes said, stifling a giggle.

"Oh, most of this isn't for me. It's mostly for Ragnarok." replied Kid, cautiously setting down the food.

"Who-narok?" asked a confused Patty.

Ragnarok popped out of Crona, pointing at himself, "No, it's Ragnarok!"

"Liz, look! It's that weird alien again!" Patty laughed.

Ragnarok rolled his 'x' shaped eyes once again, "It's like talking to a brick wall..."

"Hey, Patty might be a little slow on the update, but she's not stupid!" Wes and Liz said at once, somewhat surprising Ragnarok.

"Like you even have any room to talk, Ragnarok." Kid said, "Didn't you flunk out of highschool when you were human?"

While the rest of the gang was bantering, Soul and Maka had just finished buying their food.

"C'mon, Soul. Let's go sit by Kid and Crona."

Soul looked towards the table. When his eyes landed on his older brother, he grumbled and averted his line of sight over to where Kilik, Ox, Kim, and all their weapons were eating, "Can't we just go eat with those dudes?"

Maka looked confused, "Why, what's wrong with Kid and Crona?"

Soul shifted his gaze down at his sneakers this time, "N-nothing. Kid's a neat freak, but he's pretty cool. And Crona's sweet... it's just..."

Maka looked back towards the table and understood, "...it's your brother?"

Soul sighed ashamedly, "...yeah."

"What's with you two anyway? When you snapped at him for saying something about not comparing yourself to your family..."

"Hey, little brother! We're waiting for you!" Wes called, waving over at Maka and her weapon.

Maka gave Soul a reassuring smile, "Soul, he's still your brother. And whatever's going on between you two, I'm sure it'll resolve itself if you just talk about it with him later.

Thinking on it for a moment, Soul grinned and thanked his partner, "...thanks, Maka. C'mon, let's go sit down."

"What took you two so long?" asked Kid as Maka and Soul took their seats.

* * *

><p>Half way through the lunch period, their new 'gang' was really getting to know eachother. Wes was acting as the forefront of the conversation, telling stories about how he played near-professional violin at public places, all at remarkably young age.<p>

"...but that's nothing! Once, I went to play at this really nice jazz club once..." Wes began, but stopped short.

"Oh shit. Not this guy..." groaned Liz.

BlackStar came out of nowhere and plopped into the seat infront of Kid, right next to Soul.

The group all sat in silence for abit, not even the sounds of the chattering teens that surrounded them breaking the thick tension. While a pair of gold eyes bore into ones with star-shaped pupils, all others eyes were trained on the demon that interrupted their meal.

"...I'll admit, you're not a bad fighter." BlackStar said, tapping his fingers on the table.

"What, opening your mouth without constantly spouting inane dribble about how everyone is a weak moron? That's a first." Kid practically spat at the blue-haired boy.

BlackStar shrugged abit, "Hey, I was trying to compliment ya. You hit pretty hard for such a wimpy looking guy."

Kid chuckled, "Says the guy who just crawled out of the infirmary I put him in."

BlackStar shot a wide, bloodthirsty grin back at Kid, "Just keep your little victory in mind... because next time, we're using our weapons... and I'll crush you."

Crona glanced nervously at Kid, but his gaze continued to bore into BlackStar.

"Good to know. Now, please, my friends and I are trying to eat, and I'm sure no one here can stomach the sight of you for much longer without losing their lunch."

"Ah, that really hurts." sarcastically spat BlackStar.

"It may hurt, but it's the truth. And that's not even mentioning we have no elbow room with your giant ego all over the place."

"I'm looking forward to our next scrap..."

"As am I..."

BlackStar removed himself from the table, walking away. But before he could make it too far, Tsubaki grabbed him from behind, "BLACKSTAR! I've been looking all over for you! What are you doing out of the infirmary?!"

"PUT ME DOWN! YOU'RE EMBARRASSING ME IN FRONT OF MY ENEMIES!"

"Charming fellow." laughed Wes, taking a sip of his drink.

"Tell me about it..." mumbled Soul as he finished off his hamburger.

"Yeah, what a dick." somewhat hypocritically stated Ragnarok, taking a giant swig of a milkshake.

"Well, this has been an interesting first day so far, huh Crona?" Kid asked his weapon partner.

"It has... but at least I did make some new friends." Crona said with a small blush and smile, looking towards the Evans brothers and Thompson sisters.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, good gravy. I'm already around 40,000 words and we're still not even into the main plot yet. It's been mostly character development mixed with setup and bits of action, I suppose.<strong>

**And I would also like to remind you, for any characters acting OOC, I have an explanation for. I'm mainly pointing this towards Lord Death. While he does show that he has somewhat of a murderous side in the anime, I don't think it was too the level he displays in this story.  
><strong>

**But anywho, there's a reason for this, but it won't be explained for QUUUUITE a while.**

* * *

><p><strong>Reader Response:<strong>

**UnflinchingResolve- Thank you. I was actually quite concerned that their would be an uproar that I turned BlackStar into a COMPLETE jerkass who's initially hostile towards the main cast. He'll still be somewhat cocky, but not to the canon level. And yes, he and Tsubaki will join the rest of the gang eventually.**

**NEKO8Kirona- We'll just have to wait and see what happens to BlackStar.**


	12. 1st Missions

BlackStar had never been one for history. However, he was one for kicking ass.

"That's why I hope this pyramid's full of mummies. Or at least it's a straight shot to Anubis. I don't want to waste to much time here either way." BlackStar said to his partner as they walked through the desert, approaching a giant pyramid built in the middle of a vast sea of sandy dunes.

"Looking forward to your rematch with Kid?" Tsubaki asked as they neared the ancient structure.

"You know it." chuckled BlackStar laughed, "-I know you're much stronger than Crona. We'll make him cry for his daddy."

"You know, BlackStar... Kid's not that bad of guy. Maybe you should try to make friends with him."

The ninja and his weapon entered the pyramid. Inside, unlike the desert, it was nice and cool. However, the air was thick and laced with dust and sand. BlackStar responded, "Yeah, that'll happen when-"

The ex-StarClansman was cut short when a giant stone door slammed shut behind he and his partner. As soon as it was shut and the pryamid's inky darkness was replaced by an eerie blue glow that shone from torches, inexplicably lit when the door shut. Their blue flames danced around and flickered as BlackStar scoffed, "Is this suppose to scare us?"

Soon, low moans filled the temple as a legion of bandaged golems filed in from around the various corners. BlackStar snickered as Tsubaki turned into a shruiken, landing in his hand.

"This is gonna be fast, but it outta be fun."

* * *

><p>Another mummy caved in under BlackStar's fist. The young ninja spun around and tossed Tsuabaki, in her shrukien mode, down the hallway. She mowed down the final wave of mummies leaving none left.<p>

'_That was too damn easy. Where's Anubis?' _BlackStar thought to himself as he held up his arm, waiting for Tsubaki to change course and return to him.

But when she turned around, a large, stone door collapsed between them. Now BlackStar was stuck in the long hallway while Tsubaki was in the next room over. BlackStar scoffed, walking up to the hieroglyphic covered wall.

"Think this can stop me?!" he shouted, hoping that Anubis was listening. He reared back his fist and thrust it forward, knocking a giant hole in it.

BlackStar stepped through, looking around the room. It was huge, and held a small platform with stairs. Atop the platform was a sarcophagus, several bandages sticking out of the edges and wiggling in the stale air.

"You must be Anubis. What did you do to my partner?"

"Ah... BlackStar, don't look..."

Against his weapon's pleadings, BlackStar looked.

And he saw his weapon wrapped up in bandages, squeezing her in... private areas.

BlackStar quickly averted his gaze, but was still peaking at the sarcophagus, '_Didn't know dead guys could be_ _pervs...'_

_"_BlackStar, help me!"

BlackStar huffed in annoyance, "Make up your mind, woman! Do you want me to not look or help you?! Cause I can't do both at once-"

"Forget it!" she screamed, turning into a smoke bomb. The bomb exploded against the tendrils of bandages, and Tsubaki ended up back in BlackStar's hand in the form of a kusarigama, better known as a chain scythe.

"Let's make this quick, I'd like to get home. I've got more important things to be doing." BlackStar spat at the mummy.

The eyes of the sarcophagus lit up like an inferno, "You insolent little fool! I can assure you, your death will be swift indeed!"

The bandages writhed about as the ancient pharaoh boomed his threat, all ending up pointing at BlackStar. Without warning, they all rocketed towards the ninja and his partner.

But in a several flashes of steel, BlackStar skillfully swung Tsubaki all around his body, tearing each and every one of the bandages to shreds. The destroyed pieces gently floating to the ground.

"Boring." yawned BlackStar, stepping out of his fighting stance in a show of bold confidence.

"You little... I'm going to crush you into dust and swallow your soul, you impudent little shit!" Anubis roared in anger, his sarcophagus sliding open. Then, out of the dusty darkness, a hulking mummy emerged. And he was ugly and deformed as he was huge. He swung his right arm out, which appeared to be a giant, cylindrical hammer wrapped in bandages, much like the rest of his body.

"I hate to inform you, but who ever wrapped you did a pretty shit job." BlackStar laughed.

"BlackStar! Stop making fun of him and finish him off!" scolded Tsubaki.

"C'mon. Just look at him, Tsubaki! I'm not a neat freak, but just take a look at him. How's he even supposed to move with that dumbass hammer arm? The other one's tiny compared to it..."

"Well, you do have a point..." agreed Tsubaki, unable to deny the mummy's odd and seemingly impractical body structure.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH! NO ONE MOCKS ME!" Anubis raved, several bandages emerging from his back. Like the last round, they shot up near the roof before changing course and launching themselves at BlackStar.

"Heh heh." laughed BlackStar as he held Tsubaki back, who turned back into a shuriken. The first bandage hit it's target, piercing him through the chest and slamming into the ground below.

"Good riddance!" spat Anubis at BlackStar.

BlackStar responded by buzzing out of existence.

"What the...?" gasped the mummy.

"Over here, dumbass."

BlackStar was now reclined against his wall, causally twirling his shruiken around in one outstretched arm. With a roar of anger, the mummy opened up his single eye and fired a beam of heat and light at the ninja.

But as soon as it hit, BlackStar flickered out of existence once more.

"Afterimages..." the pharaoh realized.

"No shit, moron!" screamed BlackStar, finally appearing in front of the mummy. He hurled Tsubaki towards the pharaoh, but at the last second, the mummy leaned to the right, letting the demon weapon fly by his hulking frame.

"Your aim is pitiful!" Anubis laughed at the blue-haired teen.

"I didn't _want _to hit you!" BlackStar shouted, grabbing his wrist and launching his body towards the mummy, his elbow outstretched.

The young ninja plowed into the pharaoh's stomach, releasing his soul wavelength and shooting it throughout the mummy's body. This blew a massive hole in the stomach of the pharaoh, who screamed in agony and was sent stumbling back.

Unknown to him, Tsubaki had looped around and was headed straight for his neck. She decapitated the hulking monster before landing in the awaiting hand of BlackStar.

"I... can't believe... you killed me..." wheezed the giant pharaoh's decapitated head, before it and the staggering body exploded into shadow. The only thing left was the kishin egg.

Tsubaki turned back into a human, allowing the soul to land in her hands before she consumed it.

"Ugh. That was gross." she muttered.

"Are you alright? What did it taste like?" BlackStar asked.

"It didn't really have a taste... it was just the way it went down... it was weird."

BlackStar shrugged, "Well, don't eat anymore, then."

Tsubaki's eyes widened, "But... I need them to become a Death Scythe!"

BlackStar's clenched his fist, raising it up, "I don't need a Death Scythe to take out my old man. Just a couple more years of training, and I'll be ready."

Tsubaki smiled, "It's alright, BlackStar. I know you need to act like a tough guy and say stuff like that, but your dad's already consumed the soul of Death Scythe and his partner. You need one to stand a chance. I'll keep eating them."

"Your choice; not mine. I honestly don't give a damn about creating a Death Scythe, I just want to slit my dad's throat."

Tsubaki smiled, "You're not as hard and cold as you pretend to be."

"Think whatever you want." BlackStar scoffed, turning his back to his partner.

"I will. And I think you do care about me; if you didn't, you wouldn't have asked me how a felt after eating that soul. You also said you didn't care about creating a Death Scythe- not that you didn't care for me in general."

BlackStar's cheeks turned red. He silently pulled up his collar to hide his blush, and began pacing out of the pyramid, "Whatever. Let's go home."

* * *

><p>Kid blinked. Looking down, he found that his body was much, much smaller than before he had fallen asleep.<p>

Shifting his gaze to his little hands, it dawned on him that he was a child once again; about a year before he had met Crona for the first time. He was standing in the hallway to the Death Room.

The sound of his father arguing with someone drew his attention. Sneaking over to the door, he slightly cracked it open, peaking inside.

Joe Buttataki was there, holding a knife, although he didn't look like he was primed to use it against his father, who was still in his old cloak. But it did look like they were in a heated argument.

"This is a big deal, Lord Death! That spy somehow slipped by my soul detection and right into our students! The only reason I caught him is because he was so insistent on going to the Death Room!"

To illustrate his point, Joe lifted up the knife, "-he wanted to come here so bad to kill you with this!"

"It's _fine_, Joe. The spy has been caught. Just _drop it_."

"Wha?! Whadda mean, it's fine? This thing was covered in poison designed by Eibon to specifically kill Shinigamis! If that spy had managed to stab you with it..."

"Well he _didn't_, did he?"

Joe began to grow frustrated, "Every time an artifact of Eibon pops up, you start acting like this! Dancing around the issue, acting like it's no problem that we've just caught someone carrying something that was-"

Death exploded, spinning around and grabbing Joe by his collar. Lifting the shocked man into the air, he screamed, "JOE! I! SAID! DROP IT, DAMN YOU!"

Kid quickly spun around, his heart throbbing. He'd never thought he would hear his father curse, much less explode like that. Running down the hall, he desperately hoped he would forgot what he had just saw.

Kid's eyes snapped open, and he was back in reality. He looked down at his hands- he was a teenager, but his heart was still racing.

That was easily his most disturbing memory.

He kept it out of thoughts so much he sometimes forgot about it entirely. He knew about his father's serious, yet loving personality.

After Crona's arrival, his father switched over to a more 'kid-friendly' demeanor and appearance.

But he had never seen his dear father act that way.

He had never told anyone about what he had saw that day. Sometimes, he had even thought that it had never happened; that it was just a recurring nightmare.

But no, he knew it was real deep down. The only thing he was wondering about at this juncture was why he had the dream, when he hadn't even thought about that day in several years.

'_Must just be anxious about Crona and I's first mission...' _he decided.

The Reaper settled into the airplane's seat and peaking out it's window, watching frozen mountain peaks pass underneath.

"There aren't too many people on this plane..." Kid noted aloud, taking a look around the plane. Just a few middle-aged businessmen, half reading newspapers and the other half napping. That was too be as expected- for the normal populace of the world, the vast majority of children were in school, and the parents were at home, working.

The Son of the Grim Reaper then shifted his focus to Crona, who was squirming uncomfortably in her seat.

"Nervous?" silently laughed Kid.

"Y-yeah." she replied, a blush on her cheeks.

"Don't worry, we've practiced our Soul Resonance. We'll do just fine on our first mission."

"I-it's not that. I'm just nervous b-because this is my first time riding an airplane... I don't know how to deal with being so high up..."

"But you ride on the Beelzebub with me all the time."

"T-that's different."

"Just try to relax, alright?"

Kid said, turning his attention on back to the airplane's window. As he did this, a flight attendant rolled her cart by. Ragnarok silently emerged from Crona's back, licking his lips at all the goodies rolling by. Reaching his arm out, he quickly grabbed a cookie without the flight attendant noticing.

But as the demon sword withdrew his arm, it bumped into the inside of the cart, shaking a cup of coffee held atop it. As it was lightly jostled, a drop of coffee from within the cup launched from the cup, flying above Crona and landing right on Kid's right leg.

His _right_ leg.

"Oh no..." Kid gagged, seeing the stain on his pants. The Shinigami began violently convulsing.

"Er... is your friend alright, ma'am?" the flight attendant asked Crona, just as Ranagrok consumed the cookie and sank back into her bloodstream.

"H-he's fine. He's just like this sometimes when his symmetry is thrown off..." Crona explained, pulling out a paper bag. She handed it to Kid, and he began taking deep breaths in and out of it as she gently rubbed and patted his back.

With an annoyed huff, Kid ripped the bag away from his face and began violently rubbing the spot on his pants with it. The flight attendant shrugged her shoulders and wheeled the cart away.

"Filthy... asymmetrical... smear on the face of balance..." Kid muttered to himself, discarding the paper bag and examining the spot. All that was left was a small, brownish imprint of a wet spot, but that would go away with a wash.

Kid rubbed his eyes, then started rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"You alright, Kid?" she asked him.

"Yes, I'm fine Crona, thank you. You really help calm me down when I have one of my asymmetry triggered panic attacks."

The two smiled at eachother, until Kid broke away and looked disdainfully down at the remnants of the stain on his pants, "First thing we do when we land is giving these filthy things a good wash."

Ragnarok emerged from Crona's back, "While you're doing that, can Crona and I get something to eat? I hear Sweetish some pretty good cheese to try out."

"Ragnarok, it's not 'Sweetish' it's 'Sweden'. And we're not going there too eat cheese. We're hunting two members of StarClan that have been attacking innocent farmers and eating their souls."

"Come on. We'll have some time to sample some foods."

"Whatever. I guess we'll have some time. Just don't let it distract you from the mission."

* * *

><p>"Why did we have to park so far away?" whined Liz to her meister.<p>

"'Cuz I don't want to take a chance of my baby being scratched." replied Wes nonchalantly.

Patty gasped, "Wes, you have a baby?!"

Wes sighed, "No, Patty, I meant my car."

Patty giggled, "Oh! I see."

The trio was walking down a trail lined with gnarled trees early in the night, and soon came into the view of a large house that looked like a pumpkin stacked atop a larger one.

"Uh... interesting design choice, I suppose..." said Wes, before he held out both hands. The Thompson sister complied and turned into pistols, both landing in his palms.

"So, what's our strategy, Wes?" asked Liz in her pistol form.

"The direct one." replied Wes as he walked directly up to the witch's door, pounding on it with the butt of Liz's pistol form.

"Coming~!" the white-haired technician and his two weapons heard a female coo loudly from upstairs.

The door was answered by a woman with purple hair, wearing nothing but a towel.

Wes doubled back, waving Liz at the woman, "What the-?! HAVE SOME CLASS, LADY! PUT ON SOME CLOTHES WHEN YOU ANSWER THE DOOR!"

The purple-haired witch laughed, "Why? Don't you think I've got a nice body~?"

Wes hopped backwards, landing in a squatting position. Forgoing the wisecracks, he aimed Liz and Patty up at the witch, "Eat this!"

He fired at her, but the witch jumped into the air as well, so Wes' shots only succeeded in tearing up the witch's towel.

Wes looked towards the sky, where the purple-haired woman was sitting atop a floating pumpkin, now clothed in a tight black dress.

"You almost got me! But you were just to slow~"

Wes chuckled, "I'll wipe that smirk off your pretty little face..."

Blair aimed her hand down at Wes, "Pump, Pumpkin Halloween Canon!"

She fired a giant pumpking down at the violinist, but he hoped atop it, using one foot to jump off and get even higher into the night sky then the cat woman.

He aimed Liz and Patty down at her, but when he fired off several shots. The witch jumped off her pumpkin, before it was destroyed by Wes' gunfire. She landed atop her pumpkin house.

The cat witch's yellow eyes twinkled as she saw her opening. The top of her hat extended into the air and wrapped itself around Wes' ankle. She gave her head a slight tilt, causing the tendril wrapped around Wes' ankle to slam him into the top of her house as well.

Wes quickly rebounded from the painful blow. Gritting his teeth, he sat up, using Patty to blast the tendril off his ankle, while simultaneously using Liz to shoot the witch. The cat-woman didn't expect Wes to rebound so quickly and was caught off guard. The soul-bullet from Liz hit Blair's shoulder, sending her crashing through her bathroom window.

Wes sat up, flinching abit at the bruises covering his back.

"You ok, Wes?" asked Liz, concerned for her meister.

"I-I'm fine. Nothing broken. Let's get that witch..." he growled, holding Liz and Patty out to either side. Using soul resonance, he turned them into machine guns and jumped through the window.

Wes looked around the yellow-tiled bathroom, not finding her.

"Where did she go...?" he wondered, ready to fire at any moment.

"You-who, down here~" Wes heard her purr from below.

He had time to look down and see a familiar purple cat before she lifted up a single paw, "Pump pump Pumpkin, Halloween Canon!"

An explosion rang out through the house, and Wes was blown from the window, covered in burns and his shirt aflame.

"Damn bitch!" he shouted, flipping midair and landing on both feet, quickly dropping Liz and Patty, he tore off the flaming remnants of his shirt and patted out the ember that landed on his pants.

"She's pretty tough!" said Patty as Wes picked the Thompson sister back up once more.

"I won't deny that... but we've been practicing." Wes said with his little smirk. He held both the machine guns up, and they all shouted, "SOUL RESONANCE!" The Thompson sisters each began transforming into something much larger...

Blair had time to look out her busted window to see the shirtless Wes holding two twin rocket launchers in each arm... both were squared and silver, and had threatening images of teeth and fierce blue eyes at their snouts.

"Hasta la vista, baby." he said, squeezing both triggers at once.

Two giant sparks of purple soul energy flew out at once, leaving behind trails of smoke as they flew towards the pumpkin house. The cat's eyes were wide with horror as the first one hit it's mark, blowing the entire top half of her home, and she herself, to smithereens. The second hit the top of the bottom half of the home, resulting in a huge explosion that leveled the whole building, reducing it to rubble.

"Man, I've always wanted to say that." Wes chuckled to himself as the sisters turned back into humans. Wes walked over to the rubble, shifting some dry wood and a fractured beam out of the way. Reaching into the rubble, he pulled out a purple, spiky soul.

"Bon appetit, ladies." said Wes, tossing the Soul over to the girls. Liz caught it, but then handed it to Patty on her motherly instinct.

"You jerks blew up my house!" cried a purple cat, jumping from the rubble and latching itself to Wes' face. The cat began to run her claws across the violinist's face as if it were a scratching post.

"GET IT OFFA ME!" cried Wes, running about, trying to yank the cat off his face.

"Uh... don't eat that, Patty." said Liz, taking the soul back from her sister. The older Thompson sister then ran over to the panicked Wes, grabbing hold of the cat, placing her foot on Wes' chest, then tugging on the cat with all her strength and weight. She pulled the cat off, then threw it back over to the rubble.

"Why did ya attack me anyway?!" demanded the cat as she landed on the rubble, turning back into the purple-haired witch.

Wes, Liz, and Patty all looked shocked and confused. Wes began to stutter, "B-bu-bu- we killed you! We even have your soul to prove it!"

The cat lady huffed, "Don't you know that cats have nine lives?"

Patty tilted her head in confusion, "But... aren't you a witch?"

"No, I'm not. I'm Blair the Cat! And I just happen to be a feline with a ridiculous amount of magic power."

Wes rubbed his temples in frustration, "Oh, Lord... we just attacked you and destroyed your home for nothing, then... we thought you were an unregistered witch hiding from Lady Mabaa..."

Blair crawled over to Wes on all fours, shooting him the biggest puppy-dog eyes a cat could muster, "Where am I going to live now, mister...?"

The violinist looked down at her with pity, "Gee, Blair, I'm real sorry about this..."

She then sat up and snuggled up to his naked chest, "I could forgive you... if you let me live with you, since I have nowhere else to go..."

Wes stiffened at her touch, "Well, I don't know..."

"Please~? I'll make it worth your while, handsome..." she cooed with a wink, then rubbed her breasts against him. This elicited a pleased grin from Wes. Liz noticed this and began fuming with anger. She balled her fist up and smacked her meister upside the head, knocking him out of Blair's grasp and spiraling into the ground, where he received a mouthful of dirt.

_'Yep, Maka and Soul aren't going to happy about this...' _Wes thought to himself.

Suddenly, a ringing in his back pocket brought him from his thoughts. He yanked his skullphone- it was a communication device issued to all Shibusen students that was incredibly durable, so it could withstand most fights.

"How'd your first mission go, big bro?" Soul asked, appearing on the screen. Wes sighed, "It wasn't a witch at all, it was just a magic cat..."

Soul cocked his eyebrow, lifting up a corrupt soul by it's ethereal tail, waggling it in front of the screen, "Well, mine went great. Well, down the hatch... aghh..."

Wes watched as his little brother consumed the soul. Wes smirked, "Fine, little brother. Want to turn this into a competition? We'll see who'll collect the most souls... just remember that I'm still in the lead."

Passing his brother's last remark as a pointless bluff, Soul shut off the skullphone with an indigent huff.

* * *

><p>Kid and Crona were in a hotel room, both dressed in pajamas. While Crona was laying on her bed, reading something on her laptop, Kid was in the bathroom, brushing his teeth.<p>

The Son of the Grim Reaper spat the toothpaste into the sink, turning on the water and letting it wash down the frothy liquid. After turning the faucet back off, he ran his tongue over his teeth and examined them in the mirror.

Before his examination was complete, his skullphone, which he left laying on the nightstand next to his bed, began to ring. He exited the bathroom and picked it up, watching Soul Eater appear on the small screen.

"Hey, Kid." greeted Soul.

"Hello, Soul. How did your first mission go?"

"Kinda boring. Too easy. But hey, Maka and I got an impure soul, and that's what matters, right?"

"Well, the world's a little better of a place now, so I suppose. As for my mission, Crona and I searched all day for the StarClan members here, but we couldn't find any sufficient leads. They're much sneakier than your average kishin-egg, that's for sure. So, we decided to rest at a hotel for the night and pick up the search in the morning."

"Tough luck, dude."

"It's alright. So, do you know how Wes' first mission went?"

"Hehe... that witch job he snatched up? It wasn't a witch at all! Just a magic cat. That leaves me in the lead."

"Err... Soul, you do know that your brother kept the souls of the mafia members he killed, right?"

"What?! B-but I thought your dad confiscated those!"

"Well, he did. But because your brother became an official Shibusen member, he got to keep the soul Liz ate and the souls from the mobsters that the DWMA members stationed in New York collected at the scene."

"So that means..."

"If I remember correctly, my father says that your brother has 15 souls in total."

Soul looked down at his feet, frustration clear on his face.

"Soul...? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." he grumbled.

"Well, I'll see you at the party when I get back from this mission, alright?"

"Bye." he angrily muttered, hanging up the skullphone.

Kid shook his head, "I don't know what's going on between Soul and his brother, but it's gotta end." he placed the phone back on the dresser when Crona called him,"Kid! Come look at this!"

The Shinigami leaned over his weapon's shoulder, reading an e-mail sent from the Shibusen agents stationed in the local area. Apparently, there was a recent murder of a group of 6 friends going hiking earlier that day. And in an area not to far from where they were staying. It would be about a 5 minute ride on Beelzebub.

"Should we go look into it?" asked Crona.

"Yeah, let's hurry and change into our clothes. We don't want any possible leads going cold."

Quickly changing out of their pjs and into their street clothes, Kid opened up the hotel's window and summoned his Beelzebub, hopping aboard. Crona stepped out and onto the skateboard, shutting the window behind her. The Children of Death then took off towards the site of the murder, determined to catch the killers.

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter detailed the character's first missions. I didn't do Soul and Maka's because there was really nothing I could think of that would be exciting or character building for them.<strong>

**And it's whatever into the future from the last chapter. I'm unsure of how much into the school year they would have to be to start doing missions. Long enough for Soul and Maka and BlackStar and Tsubaki to learn how to resonate, I guess.**

* * *

><p><strong>Review Response: <strong>

**Valance10Adam greenthe devil- SLOW YER ROLL PARDNER. I don't want to rush the romantics in this story. We'll get there eventually.**

**NEKO8Kirona- Well, Kid and Crona are about to fight 2 members of StarClan. Things will happen, I can assure you.**

**Vlad- Thank you kindly.**

**UnflinchingResolve****- You're welcome.**


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